Vertical has released the first teaser for Daisy Ridley’s upcoming horror thriller We Bury The Dead, which is set in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment in Tasmania.
The film follows Ava (Ridley), a woman searching for her missing husband among the wreckage of a deadly outbreak. But the corpses don’t stay down for long.
As Ava joins a “body retrieval unit” in hopes of finding answers, her mission quickly turns into a fight for survival when the dead rise not just to wander but to hunt.
The official synopsis reads: “We Bury The Dead is a gripping and emotional thriller set after a military experiment decimates the people of Tasmania. Daisy Ridley stars as Ava, a desperate woman who joins a ‘body retrieval unit’ in the hopes of finding her husband alive.
“Ava’s search takes a chilling turn, however, when the corpses she’s burying start showing signs of life… As she journeys to the south of Tasmania in search of her husband, Ava is forced to confront the undead — and make peace with her own unfinished business.”
The film also stars Brenton Thwaites, Matt Whelan, Chloe Hurst, Kym Jackson, and Mark Coles Smith. Critics at SXSW praised the movie for bringing a fresh edge to the zombie genre, with one early review describing it as delivering “a few bursts of genuine scares in the process and an awe-inducing sense of scale.”
Directed by genre filmmaker Zak Hilditch, best known for These Final Hours and his Stephen King adaptation 1922, has been steadily carving out a reputation for crafting bleak yet emotional thrillers. With We Bury The Dead, it looks like he’s leaning fully into horror, offering a film that blends raw human desperation with chilling undead terror.
The teaser doesn’t give away much, but it’s enough to leave an unsettling impression. The atmosphere is eerie, Ridley looks fully committed to the emotional and physical intensity of the role, and the imagery suggests this will be more than just another zombie thriller. It feels intimate, personal, and terrifying.
Vertical plans to bring We Bury The Dead to select US theaters on January 2, 2026. This one looks like it’s going to be a hell of a ride.
