GENRE | 'She Dies Tomorrow' Passes on Contagious Dread

"There is no tomorrow for me."

Neon / Elevation Pictures

Actress Amy Seimetz writes and directs a darkly surreal character drama about mortality in the very eerie She Dies Tomorrow. Based on the most basic of premises, the arresting film follows various related characters as they become sort of infected with a morbid sense of impending death causing them to question their immediate existence.

Starring Kate Lyn Sheil as Amy, an alcoholic new homeowner convinced she's going to die tomorrow (as the title would suggest), the mostly interior-set story unfolds like a moody stageplay of delusional imagery resting on the strength of its disparate cast to move its melancholic narrative forward.

Strangely timely, Amy's death premonition acts like a contagious idea spreading to others who come into contact with her and whomever she passes it on to including knowing yet unassuming characters played by the likes of Jane Adams, Chris Messina, and Katie Aselton.

As the characters face their self-assured momentary death, they shed any pretenses of social pleasantries in exchange for bluntness, hard truths, and uncomfortable honesty. Conversations about impolite topics and sudden impulses to go on late night dune buggy rides overtake normal everyday activities.

Seimetz makes She Dies Tomorrow such a deeply upsetting and haunting portrait of social anxiety. Her cast really sells the balance of dramatic material edging into a pervasive sense of everyday dread and psychological horror. At times, it's oddly illuminating in its expression of both the fear and acceptance of imminent death.

She Dies Tomorrow is available to stream on various digital platforms and through video on demand starting August 7th.


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