Genre fans will already be familiar with Amy Seimetz through her performances in films like Upstream Color, Pet Sematary, and Alien: Covenant. Here, as the writer and director of She Dies Tomorrow, Seimetz demonstrates what a singular talent she is behind the camera too.
A young woman, Amy, becomes convinced that she will die tomorrow. She tells her friend Jane, who dismisses the notion, suggesting she’s had a relapse back into alcoholism. But later on, Jane too becomes convinced that she will also die tomorrow. As both characters react in different ways to this certainly, they pass on the contagion to those around them who also react in different ways.
Inspired by the different ways that people reacted to Amy Seimetz’s discussions around her own anxieties, She Dies Tomorrow is a contagion film that sees an idea become virulent. We don’t know the why, the how or the what of the spread of the infection – Seimetz is more interested in examining its impact to go into logistics – leaving us with more questions than answers, something which great science fiction often aims for.
And whilst She Dies Tomorrow isn’t a great film, it’s a very good one. It spends a lot of time with the infected before we get any kind of insight into their pasts and, in a pivotal flashback, Amy is seen telling her ex about regrets she’s had. It’s a moment that lets us, the audience, in on what Seimetz is really doing. If you knew you were dying tomorrow, wouldn’t you want to, well, live?
And so for these people whose lives are in stasis, who regret not having lived, who go through the motions of dysfunctional relationships, addictions, meaningless dinner party conversations, infection becomes a kind of cure, releasing them from their unsatisfying lives.
It’s a clever idea, one which isn’t resolved but which is explored enough to keep us thinking long after the film is over. That’s thanks in part to a terrific cast, in particular a superb Jane Adams, and direction that is certain of itself, unafraid to throw in horror, humour, pathos and mystery. It’s a little Cronenberg at times, in his earlier years anyway, and is certainly taking a look at how society deals with mental illness, giving us an insight into the ambition Seimetz carries.
Remarkably made before the pandemic, the experiences of the last 18 months give the film an added pertinence.
She Dies Tomorrow is available on Digital in the UK.
