We Bury the Dead is now streaming on Hulu, giving Daisy Ridley a fresh chance to make her case outside Star Wars. The R-rated film, described as a new take on the zombie genre, is also landing with an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ridley stars in the film after first breaking out as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, then moving through Murder on the Orient Express, The Young Woman and the Sea, The Marsh King's Daughter and Chaos Walking. Her latest stop is different enough to stand out: We Bury the Dead was not pitched quite like a zombie movie, and that alone helped it sit in a gray area tonally while trying to say something a little different about the genre.
That matters because Ridley’s post-Star Wars run has not all hit with the same force. The Marsh King's Daughter did not quite stick the landing, and Chaos Walking was not the hit piece it could have been, even as she kept pushing into projects that asked for range rather than repetition. This one is being framed as part of a broader career path that could suit her best.
Critics have responded more warmly than audiences, which is exactly why the Hulu release matters now. The film arrives as Ridley is also set to star in a new Star Wars sequel, Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol and The Good Samaritan, but the strongest signal here may be simpler: horror may be where she shines best. We Bury the Dead does not just add another title to her list. It gives her a role that finally fits the work she has been doing outside the blockbuster machine.
