She Dies Tomorrow is a 2020 horror/drama film written and directed by indie darling actress Amy Seimetz.
The film is about a young woman who returns home in a daze and quickly comes under the belief that she's going to die tomorrow. This inexplicable conviction begins spreading like a virus throughout her local community, including her friend Jane (Jane Adams) and Jason (Chris Messina).
This film provides examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Amy is a recovering alcoholic who relapses in her first scene.
- All Just a Dream: A possible — though far from confirmed — interpretation of the events of the film: the scene with Amy discussing making leather jackets with the owner of the store ends suddenly with her jolting awake on some rocks with no explanation for how she got there, and Amy seeming somewhat disoriented, meaning that the events of the film could have been the result of a dream or an alcoholic bender she was experiencing. Or not.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's implied but not entirely clear whether various characters are committing suicide in the end. Jason and Susan's final conversation make it seem as though they have set in motion a murder-suicide that will also claim their daughter. Erin and Sky have black-stained fingers and seem high, implying that they might have taken some toxic drug that will ultimately kill them. Jane is covered in blood, though seems to still be fairly untroubled by pain, so it's not clear whether she's going to bleed to death.
- Anachronic Order: We start out by watching Craig lose his mind in a living room about there being "no tomorrow." We then cut to Amy returning home and follow her, but occasional flashbacks take us to meetings she's had with Craig, progressing to a point that puts the first scene in context.
- Author Avatar: The lead character is named Amy and looks quite a bit like a younger Amy Seimetz.
- Call-Back: Early in the film, Amy says she wants to be made into a leather jacket after she dies. Very late in the film, she goes to a leather store and asks how one would go about donating skin to make a leather jacket.
- The Cameo: Michelle Rodriguez appears unexpectedly for two scenes in the third act.
- Death Seeker: Several people smile when they experience the virus, seemingly relieved at the thought of dying.
- Epileptic Flashing Lights: Everyone who catches the death virus sees strobing red and blue lights.
- Face Death with Dignity: We watch quite a few characters come to terms with the firm belief that they're about to die. Most of them are very serene in the end.
- Motif: The soothing nature of music comes up a few times. Amy listens to classic music repeatedly in the first act when she is in the grips of depression. Jane also listens to classic music when she's doing her photography. The doctor requests that Jane hum to him when he's panicked. In the end, Amy hums to herself to calm her nerves.
- No Ending: We get no resolution whatsoever about anything. The film ends early on the day where people think they're going to die, with everyone simply waiting for it to happen, but we don't find out what does happen.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Apart from the existential terror of death, the scariness of the film is simply not knowing what is going on.
- Riddle for the Ages:
- What the hell is going on. What the death conviction is, why is spreads and where it comes from all all left unanswered. We certainly don't find out what those lights are all about.
- The film leaves a lot of other things unexplained. What does Amy do that allows her to buy a house, something Jane says is a big accomplishment? What exactly is Jane photographing? Why is Brian behaving so oddly at the dinner party before Jane even arrives? Why does Jason not seem to be alarmed by the fact that Jane arrives bleeding, in pajamas and extremely distracted to a dinner party? Why is the leather shop owner so uncommunicative when Amy first arrives?
- Together in Death: In spite of admitting that their relationship was a lie and that they don't really like each other, Brian and Tilly remain together through the film, expecting to die the next day.
