Bursting with unbridled creative boldness and fearlessly focused on the haunting questions it raises, She Dies Tomorrow – the new film by writer/director Amy Seimetz – is a film that will likely polarize audiences, confusing and frustrating some while inspiring and captivating others. It is a unique vision of anxiety and courage, carried almost exclusively by subtext and mood. It is somehow simultaneously as intimate as a shared secret and as relatable as a timeless myth. And it is entirely possible that when you finish it, you won’t quite know how to feel: which is a testament to its power.
Strong horror stories thrive on the mysterious and the unknown. They are anchored in a sense of atmosphere and emotional evocation that, when most effective, connect with us on a visceral level. That effectiveness can often be undermined, however, by a listless sense of scope or underdeveloped elements. The Beach House, the debut feature film by Jeffrey A. Brown, walks a thin line between what works and what frustrates to create a film with several memorable sequences, even if the whole of the experience remains somewhat lacking.
