Review: She Dies Tomorrow
By Julie Perez
Because living through this pandemic is not traumatic enough, She Dies Tomorrow explores the scenario of what would happen if paranoia were to be contagious.
Amy (played by Kate Lyn Sheil) wakes up one morning with a feeling that she is going to die tomorrow. As the day progresses, the realization comes with the slow unraveling of her life. Her friend Jane (played by Jane Adams) visits her to attempt to calm Amy’s anxiety and later that night, Jane finds herself with the same dreadful feeling. We see how the anxiety spreads with every person Jane interacts with; her doctor (played by Josh Lucas) then to her brother and his wife (Chris Messina and Katie Aselton). Though the portrayal of this impending death is done expertly by every single actor I found myself struggling to invest in the story.
I think there was a lot left to be desired on screen. Though the dark humor was enough to keep the story moving, there doesn’t seem to be enough substance to keep the audience invested. That may have something to do with the underdeveloped characters; with the little backstory, we were given I found myself too busy trying to find out why I should care, to actually care. There were moments where we got so close to getting actual details about the complicated family dynamic between Jane and her sister-in-law but were led astray rather quickly.
However, Director Amy Seimetz does her best to create an eerie and anxiety-inducing experience. The use of flashing lights and music to amplify the feeling of anxiety is one of the most accurate depictions of how anxiety feels that I’ve seen on screen. She Dies Tomorrow is definitely a slow burn; the unfortunate thing is that there doesn’t seem to be much of a payoff by the end.
Though it’s clear what She Dies Tomorrow was trying to accomplish, real life seems to be doing a much better job at giving you an existential crisis.
Julianna Perez
Staff Writer at GoodNerdBadNerd.com
Editor-In-Chief at juliexplores.com
www.juliexplores.com
