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SHE DIES TOMORROW- review by Liz Whittemore

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What if depression was like the flu? How would humankind survive? Amy Seimetz’s riveting new film She Dies Tomorrow, has a terrifying suggestion.

After waking up convinced she is going to die the following day, Amy’s paranoia and sorrow take over her day and those in her stratosphere. In Amy Seimetz’s newest film, sadness is palpable. That really is the entire premise of the film. This idea of impending death is spread like a disease. Hauntingly scored, She Dies Tomorrow puts you into a state of foreboding from the very first image. The lighting of this film is truly an entire mood. You can feel anguish through the meticulously placed orange and red slides edited into what feels like something between panic attacks and an otherworldly force. The repeated images of live cells push the plot and the maddening viewing experience forward as if to suggest that your entire biological essence is being infiltrated by despair. This film becomes something altogether different once more than one person is entangled. Time hops add to the complexities of the situation. If you are a fan of It Follows, this also resonates heavily with you.

As anyone who has experienced such emotional depths, Kate Lyn Sheil’s performance is a poetic tragedy. The actual lack of dialogue puts you in her shoes and on your toes. The physicality is so specific you will be captivated. Enter Jane Adams, and the frenzy ramps up tenfold. These two performances alone will move you. Joined by Kentucker Audley, Katie Aselton, Tunde Adebimpe, Jennifer Kim, Adam Wingard, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Josh Lucas, Michelle Rodriguez, and Chris Messina, this cast is unbelievable. Is She Dies Tomorrow an allegory for depression? Most likely. It seems to be about the inherent need for human connection and understanding. I can tell you one thing for sure, She Dies Tomorrow is extraordinarily disturbing. It will play upon your darkest fears in these very specific times we are all experiencing together.

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Liz Whittemore

Liz Whittemore is the author of AWFJ's I SCREAM YOU SCREAM blog. She is Co-Managing Editor and writes for www.ReelNewsDaily.com, hosts the podcast Girls On Film and is a contributing writer for Cinemit.com and The ArtsWireWeekly. Now New York-based, she was born and raised in northern Connecticut. She's a graduate of The American Musical & Dramatic Academy, and has performed at Disneyland and famed Hartford Children's Theater, and been a member of NYC's Boomerang Theater, Connecticut's Simsbury Summer Theater, Virginia's Offstage Theatre, where she also directed. Her film credits include Suburban Skies and Surrender. In 2008, she shot Jabberwocky, a documentary now in post-production. Liz is still a children's theatre director and choreographer. She's working on an updated adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and a series of children's books.