With Daisy Ridley’s new horror kicking off the 2026 movie year, We Bury the Dead has surprisingly left critics and audiences divided on Rotten Tomatoes. The survival thriller follows Ridley’s protagonist, who is searching for her missing husband after a military experiment had gone wrong. However, as she is burying the dead, she realizes the corpse is coming back to life as zombies. The zombie horror premiered in March 2025 at SXSW, where critics gave generally positive reviews. As a result, Zak Hilditch’s We Bury the Dead maintained a strong Rotten Tomatoes score of 84% based on 57 reviews. With the New Year just starting, We Bury the Dead became one of the first new releases of 2026, and it seemed that the horror would be a promising start. With audiences now viewing the film, however, they are not as impressed with the new horror flick, leading to a 47% score based on over 50 verified ratings. Nevertheless, critics and audiences are divided on their views about the new Ridley movie.

Daisy Ridley’s Ava looking shocked with blood on her face in We Bury the Dead

Based on several reviews, We Bury the Dead takes a refreshing premise on the horror subgenre. While most zombie movies focus on the action and survival elements, the new horror showcases an emotional story of one’s journey through loss and grief, even with the threat of the undead. While switching from a lightsaber to an ax, Ridley’s powerful performance was also praised by critics, which even overcomes some of the more noticeable flaws with the film. In ScreenRant’s review of We Bury the Dead, Grant Hermanns sided with the majority of the critics, giving it a strong 8 out of 10 stars. His review focuses on the cast, particularly that “Ridley deftly brings a more reserved nature to our protagonist, knowing when to let her emotions run, while still pulling back just enough to allude to something bigger going on with her.”

Even though he admits that the zombie elements are still too familiar, he still found the direction to be refreshing, especially in terms of the worldbuilding and lore. While We Bury the Dead reinvigorates the zombie subgenre, audiences weren’t as impressed. Some noted issues with the film being too slow and dull, rather than having the usual suspense and thrills marketed for zombie horror. Others argue that the new movie is not exactly a zombie movie. Unfortunately, the audience score marks Ridley’s first movie in the last three years to score under 50%. Up till this point, viewers have been responding favorably to her films, such as The Cleaner and The Marsh King’s Daughter, which earned 66% and 74%, respectively. Since 2023, her last five movies have earned “fresh” Popcornmeter designations on Rotten Tomatoes.

Daisy Ridley Movies

Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Score

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

The Marsh King’s Daughter (2023)

40%

74%

Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024)

82%

69%

Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

89%

96%

Magpie (2024)

81%

77%

Cleaner (2025)

51%

66%

We Bury the Dead (2026)

84%

47%

Nevertheless, the new zombie movie is the latest addition to Ridley’s filmography since her time as Rey in the Star Wars universe. She has had several critically-acclaimed films, including Magpie and Young Woman and the Sea.

While there have yet to be any additional developments on the new Rey movie, Ridley has a romantic comedy, The Last Resort, releasing next month. Her co-star includes another Star Wars alum, Alden Ehrenreich, who played young Han Solo in the prequel movie Solo. We Bury the Dead is now playing in theaters.

Release Date

January 2, 2026

Runtime

95 minutes

Director

Zak Hilditch

Writers

Zak Hilditch

Producers

Grant Sputore, Ross M. Dinerstein, Mark Fasano, Kelvin Munro, Joshua Harris