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She Dies Tomorrow
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Radiance Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (7th July 2023). |
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The Film
 Independent Spirit Award (Best Cinematography ): Jay Keitel (nominated) - Film Independent Spirit Awards, 2021 Chlotrudis Award (Best Supporting Actress): Jane Adams (nominated) - Chlotrudis Awards, 2021 SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award: Amy Seimetz (nominated) - SXSW Film Festival, 2020 Official Fantàstic Competition (Best Motion Picture): Amy Seimetz (nominated) - Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, 2020 Following a recent stint in rehab due to drug addiction following the death of her boyfriend (Her Smell's Kentucker Audley), Amy (You're Next's Kate Lyn Sheil) hopes to start over when she purchases a new house; however, she is soon hears voices in her head and is overcome by crippling fear followed by the clear realization that she is going to die the next day. Amy attempts to communicate this to her friend and sober companion Jane (Happiness' Jane Adams) – including her wish to be made into a leather coat – but Jane just believes that Amy is backsliding and that Amy will realize that it is all in her head when the next day comes. Later that night, however, Jane starts hearing voices as well and flees into the night. When Amy is not at home or answering her phone calls, Jane crashes the birthday party that her brother Jason (28 Hotel Rooms's Chris Messina) is throwing for his wife Susan (Book Club's Katie Aselton), sending Susan into a rage when Jane shifts the party conversation from dolphin rape to a less-than-philosophical discussion of impending death. After Jane leaves, however, Jason and Susan are both overcome with the knowledge and fear of their own impending deaths which they communicate to their daughter Madison (Madison Calderon) while their guests Brian (singer Tunde Adebimpe) and Tilly (The First Winter's Jennifer Kim) are also making some drastic life decisions. The second feature-length directorial effort of actress Amy Seimetz – following Sun Don't Shine, some shorts, and episodic television that included her unhappy exit from what would be come the dumpster fire that is The Idol once creator Sam Levinson (Euphoria) took the helm – She Dies Tomorrow is very much on its surface one of those "mumblecore" indie movies with a genre slant which is not surprising given the Todd Solandz/Joe Swanberg/Duplass Brothers pedigree of its cast which also includes directors Adam Wingard (The Guest) and James Benning (13 Lakes) as well as an amusing guest appearance by Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast and the Furious) in a sequence with Olivia Taylor Dudley (Chernobyl Diaries). While the unexplained and unexplainable "cosmic horror" notion of how the characters come to the realization of their shortened mortality may be unsatisfying, the different reactions of each of the characters to it provoke the most interest in the film, including those moments in which the film's tone bleeds from discomfort to black comedy and to fleeing utter hilarity. While the highlight of the film was surely meant to be the existential turn on the comedy of manners at the birthday party scene in which masks of civility slip, it is actually the more the aftermath (roughly the last twenty-five minutes of an eighty-four minute film) in which Adams, Aselton, Messina, Adebimpe, and Kim – as well as Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari) as a doctor who attempts to help Jane but ends up needing the gurney more than her – get to demonstrate their humanity unfettered by personas manufactured not only for the general public but even for those closest to them. What keeps the film from being just a "dark night of the soul" from which the characters will emerge with clarity about themselves and others are the finality of some of the actions they take in the unwavering belief that they are going to die and must tie up loose ends (or make things easier for others they have "infected"). Rather than the oversimple message of "we're all going to die and we sit here talking about…" some of them realize that they have all along been expressing their love for one another through seemingly trivial chatter while, for others, it is the only thing that made their relationships bearable. Vague, nonlinear flashbacks to Amy's relationship with her boyfriend echo those that periodically brought Annihilation to a grinding stop but plant the seed in the viewer's head that Amy could be a carrier, not just unknowingly spreading a virus of fear during the story proper but possibly having carried with her the seeds of her own destruction; that is, if indeed She Dies Tomorrow and this is not a fear that intermittently overcomes her and periodically radiates a chain of death she is unable to comprehend from the bubble of her own depression. She Dies Tomorrow may frustrate and even infuriate some viewers while it may stimulate the imaginations of others (but there is probably no in-between). 
Video
Shot in an unspecified high definition video format, She Dies Tomorrow's theatrical life was almost nonexistent due to its release during the early half of 2020 – although the 2020 SXSW festival where it was supposed to premiere was canceled to the public, it did net an award nomination – so it has had a staggered release on various streaming services worldwide and it is currently only available in that form from the usual suspects stateside. In the U.K., the film makes its physical media debut with Radiance Films' 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen Blu-ray which impresses with just how slick this low-budget film looks given that it was shot mostly using Seimetz's own house. Cinematographer Jay Keitel explains in an interview that he lit environments rather than characters, but none of the characters are undermined by insufficient shadow detail or the realistic lighting temperatures one would encounter in different settings that would not be flattering in a more conventionally shot film. 
Audio
The sole feature audio option is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is largely front-oriented apart from the sparse scoring and the indistinct whispers that worm their way into the heads of the characters and the ears of the viewers. Optional English HoH subtitles are included. 
Extras
Extras start off with a brand new audio commentary by critic and programmer Anna Bogutskaya who conveys an obvious affection for the film as she discusses the various critical interpretations of it – including its unintended status as a "pandemic film" – its themes of loss, addiction, and mental illness, Lovecraftian "cosmic horror", and the disruption of the social script by someone unable or unwilling to perform it. Most interesting is her analysis of how each character responds to the knowledge of their imminent death, with Amy isolating herself and Jane – introduced trying to get out of a social engagement – reaching out to others. The disc also includes a behind the scenes with director Amy Seimetz and cinematographer Jay Keitel (23:02) shot back in 2020 in which they discusses shooting in her own home – which she could not move into until the film was finished – transforming the basement for various scenes (including Jane's studio), and the piece of lighting equipment used for the scenes in which the characters become infected (scenes which had to all be shot on the same day).  A newer interview with stars Kate Lynn Sheil and Jane Adams (12:34) was shot last year and has Adams recalling recalling seeing Sheil working behind the camera in a film and recommending that she be in front of it, resulting in Sheil's first acting role in Silver Bullets. Sheil recalls working with Seimetz on a couple films as actors before Seimetz cast her in Sun Don't Shine and being thrilled when she was asked to work on She Dies Tomorrow during its more shapeless, experimental development period. Adams discusses working with Lucas during his day on the set. In "She Dies Tomorrow and The Viral Apocalypses of the Future" (15:11), Anton Bitel looks at several strains of contagion in modern horror films to give context to She Dies Tomorrow's "virus of the mind" that range from such "curse" films as Ringu, Ju-on: The Grudge, and Pulse, "pre-zombie" films in which infected people embody their unfettered id like The Crazies or Impulse, and those that take a cue from the William Burroughs' "word virus" like Pontypool and The Signal.  The disc also features the film's theatrical trailer (1:55).
Packaging
Not provided for review were the reversible cover featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, the first pressing removable OBI strip – featuring a synopsis and extras listing while leaving packaging free of certificates and markings – and the equally-limited 28-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lillian Crawford and Isabel Millar and an interview with Seimetz from the original press book, or the three postcards of original promotional imagery (available solely from Radiance Films while supplies last).
Overall
She Dies Tomorrow may frustrate and even infuriate some viewers while it may stimulate the imaginations of others (but there is probably no in-between).
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