We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie Review

Oh God, the grinding teeth...

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 2, 2026

A strikingly intense drama with suspense to spare, writer/director Zak Hilditch's We Bury the Dead returns to the post-apocalyptic darkness of his 2013 film These Final Hours while still remembering to keep a light on. As one of the first of likely many international films to rightly depict the United States government as a global antagonist, its of-the-moment narrative also feels tightly tied into the present public consciousness. We Bury the Dead is clearly more a rumination on lost love and severed connections than a mic-drop political statement or gore-filled horror hybrid, but genre fans will at least appreciate its well-done practical effects and effective, slow-burn tension. Also, zombies. Kind of.

"Slow-burn" may not be the best way to describe We Bury the Dead's opening act, a brazenly efficient speedrun of exposition that quickly sets the tone. An experimental pulse bomb is accidentally detonated by the US military off the coast of Tunisia, instantly killing 500,000 people within its non-radioactive blast radius; those just outside "ground zero" are essentially brain-dead but, though riddled with gruesome injuries and unable to speak, have regained limited motor function after their presumed death. One of the unaccounted for is American Mitch Newman (Matt Whelan), who was at a renewable energy leadership summit nearby, so his wife Ava (Daisy Ridley), along with thousands of others, signs up for body retrieval. Scouring the empty cities for "survivors" who signal military personnel for disposal, Daisy begins to suspect that these zombie-like humans are more conscious than assumed. Perhaps it's a simple bias ignited by the possibility that Mitch is still alive, but it doesn't matter: no one in power seems to agree with her.

Daisy's ultimate goal is the town of Woodbridge, Mitch's last known location, but it's forbidden to travel southward. Never one to give up easily, she's assisted by fellow body retriever Clay (Brenton Thwaites), who has volunteered to prove something to his estranged wife, and he eventually steals a motorcycle so they can escape. Rogue soldier Riley (Mark Coles Smith), who saves their lives but is clearly unstable, mourns the loss of his pregnant wife Katie and seeks companionship. It's here that We Bury the Dead draws parallels between the living and "dead", as we learn that those in a zombie-like state still have unfinished business to carry out. These means that Daisy, Clay, and Riley, together and separately, will encounter a few stragglers who want nothing more than to finish a job and die in peace, but others are aggressively violent for unknown reasons. We also learn that Daisy and Mitch's marriage was actually on the rocks before he left, so their happy reunion -- if a reunion even happens -- is something of a question mark.

It's this question mark, among many others, that might turn off first-time audiences expecting something different from We Bury the Dead, which asks a lot more than it answers. I appreciated its more abstract moments with a few exceptions, but other sections of this film teeter back into more traditional genre territory. It's a necessary evil but almost -- almost -- ends up spoiling the fun for everyone: there's likely not enough zombie goodness here to satisfy gore-hounds, but enough to somewhat distract from the things that We Bury the Dead does right. I'm still giving it the benefit of the doubt, though: this is the kind of film that teeters between "almost" and "just right" but, in my opinion, its strengths far outweigh its occasional weaknesses. It's beautifully shot and artfully presented, enough so that there's clearly at least a little more going on here than meets the eye, which will invite future rewatches and further analysis as We Bury the Dead hopefully grows in stature as more people see it. While domestic fans are seemingly stuck with this Blu-ray from Vertical Entertainment (which is, to be fair, a solid movie-only disc), hope is on the horizon.

We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

We Bury the Dead will be released internationally on UHD from Capelight Pictures and Umbrella Entertainment in the coming months, but those unable or unwilling to import (or those who don't yet own 4K players) should at least find Vertical Entertainment's low-priced Blu-ray to be a satisfactory substitute. While its status as a meager single-layered disc might initially raise a red flag, this movie-only package runs at a supportive bit rate of over 30Mbps with only 94 minutes of content to its name. While banding and sporadic black crush occasionally appear during its darker moments and some of its more heavily blue-filtered scenes look a little wonky, both of these small roadblocks may very well be unavoidable for the Blu-ray format since We Bury the Dead is indeed listed as a true 4K production with an HDR grade. This means that those above-linked imports will be the versions to watch, but almost everything else about this 1080p transfer passes muster as its overwhelmingly daylit exterior and indoor sequences look impressive with striking image detail and good color representation. I've attempted to include a pretty wide cross-section of screenshots showing its majority of highs and occasional lows so, more than most, these pictures should speak for themselves.

We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I've got no complaints at all about the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track (incorrectly listed as "Dolby Digital 5.1" on the packaging, a common misprint by Vertical Entertainment), which is a fittingly active and very tightly-controlled effort with crisp dialogue, nicely prioritized effects, active immersion in the left/right and rear channels, noticeable LFE when appropriate, and more than enough room left over for the original score by English electronic musician "Clark", who has continued to write and produce albums after becoming involved in movie compositions a little over a decade ago. While a Dolby Atmos mix would have been interesting to hear given the film's often intense atmosphere, this theatrical-grade track is a wonderful complement and well worth cranking at high volume.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included, which may help with deciphering the Aussie dialects and lingo.

We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover art and a matching slipcover. Sadly, no extras are included, but at least one of the above-linked 4K editions is advertised as having multiple bonus features.

We Bury the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zak Hilditch's We Bury the Dead isn't a totally different kind of zombie movie; in fact, it's a somber and occasionally intense drama with zombie window dressing. Even though some of its rules are a little mushy and plenty of unanswered questions are asked, the film's impressive economy and beautiful visuals make it a journey worth taking and one you'll likely want to revisit in the future. Vertical Entertainment's Blu-ray is an affordable movie-only disc, but those set up for UHD may want to import the forthcoming 4K editions from Capelight Pictures and Umbrella Entertainment, which will also include Dolby Vision support and an assortment of extras. For everyone else, this one's Recommended.