We Bury the Dead (2026) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film is set in Tasmania, Australia. The story takes place primarily in Hobart, a major city on the eastern coast that has been destroyed by the weapon detonation, and in remote towns like Woodbridge where survivors have scattered. The island setting creates an isolated, post-apocalyptic environment that emphasizes the characters' sense of being cut off from the world.

• tasmania
• hobart
• australia
• setting
• post-apocalyptic

The Tasmanian setting serves as both a physical and emotional landscape. The destroyed city of Hobart represents the collapse of civilization, while the remote town of Woodbridge and the surrounding wilderness embody survival and isolation. The island geography creates natural boundaries that trap survivors between the undead threat and the sea, intensifying the feeling of being trapped with nowhere to escape.

• tasmania
• hobart
• woodbridge
• isolation
• survival environment

The film takes place in a near-future post-apocalyptic period following a catastrophic military disaster that has created the undead outbreak. While an exact year is not specified, the setting represents a world in the aftermath of a weapon detonation, with society already collapsed and survivors struggling to adapt to the new reality of roaming undead.

• time period
• future
• post-apocalyptic
• undead outbreak

We Bury the Dead explores three interconnected themes: Survival, which examines how characters navigate fear, scarcity, and moral choices in a devastated world; Unfinished Business, which focuses on how grief and obsession can distort reality and justify extreme actions; and Birth and Hope, which presents the birth of a child amid the apocalypse as a counterpoint to death and a symbol of renewal.

• themes
• survival
• grief
• hope
• birth

The survival theme explores how characters adapt their daily routines to an unpredictable, dangerous landscape. Ava's journey across Tasmania tests her trust in others, her resilience in the face of constant threat, and the moral weight of killing undead while coping with personal loss. The theme emphasizes that survival is not just physical but also emotional and psychological.

• survival
• moral choices
• resilience
• adaptation

The unfinished business theme centers on Riley, whose obsession with closure through his late wife's memory drives him to extreme and violent acts. The narrative shows how grief can distort reality and justify harmful behavior. Ava similarly grapples with carrying forward the memory of her husband Mitch while deciding how much of that grief she can realistically bear.

• grief
• obsession
• closure
• riley
• unfinished business

The birth and hope theme is embodied in Katie's baby, which survives the undead outbreak. This living infant serves as a counterpoint to the death and decay surrounding the characters, reframing motherhood as a beacon of life beyond despair. Ava's bond with Clay and the baby suggests possibilities for renewal and new purpose beyond vengeance and loss.

• baby
• hope
• renewal
• motherhood
• life

Ava Newman is an American physiotherapist and wartime caregiver played by Daisy Ridley. She is stubborn, resourceful, and driven by a need to reunite with her missing husband Mitch while coping with the loss that follows. Throughout the story, she navigates moral gray areas as she retrieves bodies and confronts both undead threats and the emotional toll of grief on her marriage.

• ava newman
• daisy ridley
• protagonist
• grief

Riley is a solitary soldier played by Mark Coles Smith who lost his own wife Katie to the weapon's effects. His grief turns into obsession with unfinished business, and his hospitality toward Ava eventually turns controlling and violent as he tries to shape her into a replacement for his late wife's memory. He represents the psychological breakdown that can result from unprocessed grief.

• riley
• soldier
• obsession
• grief
• violence

Clay is a fellow volunteer played by Brenton Thwaites who bonds with Ava during their cross-Tasmanian journey. He seeks to protect others and prove he is not selfish, balancing his own grief with a developing sense of partnership and purpose. His relationship with Ava becomes a source of hope and potential renewal amid thedarkness of the story.

• clay
• brenton thwaites
• volunteer
• partnership

Mitch Newman is Ava's husband who dies on a business trip during the disaster. His memory haunts Ava as she grapples with issues of infidelity, abandonment, and the collapse of their marriage. Her search for him threads through the story, and the emotional weight of their failing relationship adds depth to her journey through the post-apocalyptic landscape.

• mitch newman
• husband
• marriage
• grief
• search

The film has a dark, intense tone dominated by themes of mass death, personal loss, and psychological breakdown. The constant life-or-death stakes of the zombie threat and the unsettling psychological encounter with Riley create sustained suspense. However, the discovery of a healthy baby introduces a fragile, complicating hope that makes the ending bittersweet.

• tone
• mood
• dark
• intense
• bittersweet