She Dies Tomorrow

The critics are raving about She Dies Tomorrow, and it’s fair to say that the film is the third best horror movie to seek out a drive-in audience in 2020 – despite lacking the big metaphor behind the wholesome sci-fi of The Vast of Night, or the slasher antics livening up the touching yuppie angst of The Rental. In fact, writer/director Amy Seimetz is happy to waste the opening 20 minutes on random imagery before getting into the plot about people who become convinced of their own imminent deaths after a persuasive first gal declares that she won’t make it through the week. (The story is mostly picked up by Jane Adams; Josh Lucas does penance for The Secret: Dare to Dream by showing up amidst an army of hip indie figures.) It’s only fair to note that She Dies Tomorrow is benefiting from being a film that’s more fun to review than to actually watch. The drive-in crowd – which has mostly spent this pandemic summer being lured in by Conjuring knockoffs – won’t have much patience for that opening stretch. As an indie oddity, though, Tomorrow offers more humor and heart than similar indulgences by acclaimed horror-adjacent directors. There’s also the fortunate timing of the script’s take on language as an infectious disease. Home viewers can add this one for a fine triple-feature alongside The Invitation and Pontypool.

[R]