We Bury the Dead
Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: January 2, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
The A.V. ClubTara Bennett Jan 2, 2026
For those looking to delve into more philosophical horror, We Bury The Dead is a thoughtful trek into the unknown. Read full review
80
Screen RantGrant HermannsMar 18, 2025
Though the movie goes by way of Shaun of the Dead and refuses to ever use the z-word, there's no denying that We Bury the Dead is a zombie movie, even if a more scaled-down one than some might come to expect. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJan 7, 2026
What “We Bury the Dead” does really well is remind us that the zombies were once-alive. They are someone’s mother, child, husband. In many zombie movies, they are a faceless unstoppable mob, and you want all of them to be put down stat. They’re the ultimate “heavy”. Here, they are still scary, but they are also sad. What happened to them is tragic. “We Bury the Dead” never forgets that. Read full review
75
Original-CinJohn KirkJan 2, 2026
Sadness is the dominant emotion in this film, not fear. While there are those moments that will accelerate the audience’s hearts, there are also those moments that will open them. After all, zombies were once people, too. Read full review
70
The RevealKeith PhippsJan 2, 2026
As a horror movie, We Bury the Dead is light on scares (and has a little trouble sustaining momentum in its back half), despite some truly upsetting zombies. But Hilditch’s film works extremely well as a mournful mood piece anchored by Ridley’s thoughtful, melancholy performance as a woman trying to understand the fullness of her loss and the impossibility of recovering the past. Read full review
70
Next Best PictureCody DericksJan 2, 2026
Zak Hilditch has crafted a harrowing, unsettling zombie movie that totally enmeshes the audience in its collapsing world. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanJan 1, 2026
We Bury the Dead is most haunting when it gestures at a world dazed with trauma and explores a path to personal closure through collective efforts. Read full review
70
TheWrapMatt GoldbergDec 30, 2025
There are some moments where the film clings a bit too heavily to genre tropes, but thankfully, its main focus is on coping with loss and the complexity of grief. Read full review
67
IndieWireKatie RifeJan 2, 2026
For a movie about stinking, bloated corpses, on the whole, this one is surprisingly fresh. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrJan 2, 2026
The very threat of zombies keeps things kind of interesting, perhaps because of all that’s come before, but this film seems to be suffering the same plight as its protagonist. Both are searching for closure, a bigger point, something that might give the whole thing meaning. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 2, 2026
In a genre plagued by a lack of effort, I’ll take a solid try. Read full review
60
The Travers TakePeter TraversJan 2, 2026
Before it reverts to moldy zombie tropes, this low-budget, no-frills survival thriller puts a fresh spin on the familiar thanks to Daisy Ridley as a human living among the walking dead. Read full review
50
VarietySiddhant AdlakhaJan 2, 2026
Its strengths also ensure that no matter how rote “We Bury the Dead” becomes, it remains at least watchable for most of its runtime, even as it ignores its most fascinating ideas in favor of safe, familiar ones. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeDec 30, 2025
There’s a thoughtful zombie tale with its own distinctive personality lurking somewhere within We Bury the Dead, but it’s overridden by the film’s more generic elements, and that identity ultimately gets lost among the horde. Read full review
50
ColliderMatt DonatoMar 17, 2025
We Bury The Dead is a sprawling but sparse zombie remix that's too far removed from the genre it's exploiting. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 2, 2026
We Bury the Dead is already too slow and mournful to pass as popcorn entertainment, and it’s rarely quite thoughtful enough to bring its art house horror aspirations to life. Read full review
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