She Dies Tomorrow (2020) Review – A Repetitive and Pretentious Anxiety Trip

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at Amy Seimetz’ psychological horror come thriller – She Dies Tomorrow.

A film based on existential dread

This is one of those movies that shows the stark difference between what critics appreciate and what viewers want from a film. Critics love She Dies Tomorrow, viewers not so much.

Amy, a former alcoholic, has recently purchased a house. Calling Amy up to congratulate her on the big life move, her friend Jane is surprised by her bizarre manner of speaking. Believing she has consumed alcohol and is, perhaps, not doing so well, Jane visits Amy’s house to check up on her.

While there, Amy seems seriously out of sorts. While chatting, Amy tells Jane that she is going to die tomorrow. Thinking that this is a simple result of Amy drinking alcohol, Jane tells her she isn’t dying and leaves. Soon, however, it becomes clear to Jane that maybe Amy had a point and she needs to investigate further.

So picture yourself lying in bed; it’s 4am and you have to be up early in the morning. Unable to sleep and sick of counting down the minutes, you begin to think about life and the fragility of existence. Staring at the ceiling and more awake than ever. You now spend the next hour absorbed by a deep and nauseating existential crisis that makes you shudder down to your very core. Now imagine that that feeling is contagious and could be passed on to others. Bam! You have She Dies Tomorrow.

Anxiety themed psychological horror

Written and directed by Pet Sematary actor Amy Seimetz, the fact that the main character here shares a name with our writer is little in the way of coincidence. This is very much a self-insert story about one person’s struggles with anxiety. Specifically, those struggles of someone who can’t communicate them or feels others won’t understand. She Dies Tomorrow sometimes feels like the horror movie version of an edgy teen shouting “you don’t know my struggles“.

“This is very much a self-insert story about one person’s struggles with anxiety. She Dies Tomorrow sometimes feels like the horror movie version of an edgy teen shouting ‘you don’t know my struggles’.”

Despite the majority of people experiencing anxiety at some point in their life, Seimetz relates these issues as if alien to the masses. Whether this is commendable or, actually, demonstrates a significant level of insular thinking on her part is a debate for another article.

Taking the knowledge of one’s imminent death and using it as a vehicle to relate to the subject of anxiety itself, She Dies Tomorrow acts as something of a cathartic release of pent up emotion as the movie’s characters deal with their impending doom in a variety of ways. Some are okay with the idea, some panic, others just want to be with their loved ones. It works fairly well and is a topic that most people can relate to, albeit done in a way that is fairly glib.

An overstretched concept

The problems start when you look past this important topic and consider She Dies Tomorrow as a story. This is a movie that will feel familiar to anyone who has watched the fantastic Pontypool. The only problem is, whereas Pontypool is well fleshed out and fairly deep, this film is not. It is actually rather shallow. The idea wears out extremely quickly before transforming into a laborious exercise in repetition. Seimetz takes the same point made early in the movie and beats it to within an inch of its life. This feels like a movie with a stutter, constantly re-treading the same ground over and over.

As each new character utters the words “I am going to die tomorrow” it starts to become, almost, a little comical. Us Brits love a bit of repetition and this movie really did it for me when it comes to laughs. That speaks to a greater problem, though. This is a movie that wants you to think, it’s just not quite sure what about. Again, I can’t shake that feeling of a teenager screaming “you don’t know how I feel!” at the top of their lungs.

“The idea wears out extremely quickly before transforming into a laborious exercise in repetition. This feels like a movie with a stutter, constantly re-treading the same ground over and over.”

It doesn’t help that the obnoxious cast are very difficult to care about. They are all two-dimensional stereotypes; vapid and self-obsessed. Why would anyone care about how they feel or how they will react? The repetition begins to drag the movie down very early on and the lack of story leaves everything feeling hollow. This could have, perhaps, worked quite well as a short. As a full movie, however, it simply doesn’t do enough and that is without mentioning the “horror” element. It is completely non-existent and I am baffled that people class this movie as such.

Frustrating direction

Direction is frustrating. This is a movie that some might describe as rather pretentious thanks to the artsy presentation and the distinct focus on the unimportant and the irrelevant. It could be described, more accurately, as incredibly self-indulgent – greedily eating up the viewer’s time to present meaningless visuals that add little. Still, there is an audience for this type of movie and, for the most part, it looks fairly nice. If you enjoy arthouse, there is nothing for you to dislike here.

My issues with She Dies Tomorrow come in the form of pacing and character presentation. The manner in which characters speak is incredibly frustrating. Its almost strained at times. Were they instructed to speak in such a breathy manner? It is difficult to hear certain characters and just, generally, uncomfortable on the ears. It annoyed me greatly.

“This is a movie that some might describe as rather pretentious thanks to the artsy presentation and the distinct focus on the unimportant and the irrelevant.”

Pacing is a big problem. This movie has so little meat on the bones. There is no way it could feel anything other than stretched and repetitive. Continuity also feels messy. The story flicks between numerous characters offering little separation. Sometimes looking into the past before racing back to the present. It feels like it is dragging its feet; eager to stick around rather than bowing out early. Acting is okay but, again, characters are very flat and unlikable.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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