IT'S ONLY A DAY AWAY // A FILM REVIEW OF "SHE DIES TOMORROW"
Amy (Kate Lyn Shell) sits in deep thought, desperately knowing one thing with certainty: SHE DIES TOMORROW. She tells her friend Jane (Jane Adams) this realization, but is told there's no way she can know this and to not worry about it. But Amy is sure of it. She's not sick, she's not in pain, but she has an overwhelming feeling that she will indeed die tomorrow. The Anxiety has taken her over completely and she can't be talked out of it. Strangely, Jane heads home and then something unusual comes over her: She is now sure that she herself is going to die tomorrow. And she now needs to tell someone else, to share the anxiety that has suddenly come over her. Before the evening is over, they won't be the only two that know, without any doubt, that they will die tomorrow.
Writer/Director Amy Seimetz has crafted the perfect blend of horror, thriller and nightmare, in equal parts, for 2020. As everyone in the world sits in their own homes, learning to live in a masked society among a deadly virus, with Police brutality and protests filling the streets, our own anxiety has reached a fever pitch. And so the idea of this dread, this fear of a certain death, feels so much more terrifying right now than any other horror trope could. The idea that an idea of death could become contagious is the heart of the film. How would you spend your last day, if you were absolutely sure it was indeed the last? Most likely, you wouldn't go skydiving or climb a mountain. You may, like Amy, look at urns online and think back on your past, wondering how you could have made the present different. Amy also finds herself doing strange things, like looking into how she can get her skin made into a leather jacket, so that she can "be useful" after she dies. Jane finds herself stumbling around the city, talking to her brother, visiting a doctor, sitting in a pool with two strangers, all the while carrying this "virus of sorts" with her.
SHE DIES TOMORROW is unlike anything you've likely seen, and its experimental nature, and willingness to try just about anything, is what makes it work so well. The film is eerie and strange, filling the camera with splatters of bright colors and quick flashes, abruptly ending a moment before it has the chance to end itself. Kate Lyn Sheil's performance is dynamic and electric. Watching her wander through this maze, knowing the end but unsure of how to get there, is fascinating. Jane Adams anchors her fantastic performance with equal parts strangeness, humor and dread. Her journey is a different one, but one that's equally chaotic. The supporting cast are all hypnotic and although it takes some patience, the rewards of this beautifully original and frightening film, are more than worth it. Lose your breath and take a chance on SHE DIES TOMORROW. There's few films that feel more perfectly timed than this one.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Amy Seimetz STARRING Kate Lyn Sheil, Jane Adams, Chris Messina, Katie Aselton, Tunde Adebimpe, Jennifer Kim, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Josh Lucas, Michelle Rodriguez, Adam Wingard, Kentucker Audley, Madison Calderon. Now Available in select Drive in Cinemas and on Digital Cinemas.