Written and directed by Amy Seimetz
Starring Kate Lyn Sheil, Jane Adams, Chris Messina and Katie Aselton
Running time: 1 hour and 24 minutes
MPAA  rating: R for language, some sexual references, drug use and bloody images

by Audrey Callerstrom

Following the release of actress Romola Garai’s writing/directing debut Amulet comes another feature from an actress-turned-writer/director, this one from Amy Seimetz. Seimetz may be widely known for Alien: Covenant or as the wife in the latest iteration of Pet Sematary. I’m more familiar with her from her roles in smaller horror films like The Sacrament and You’re Next. In Seimetz’s follow-up to 2012’s Sun Don’t Shine, she explores a curse with undetermined origins. Is it psychosomatic? Is it supernatural? It’s not a curse that does anything to your body, it’s a psychological curse, an intrusive thought. Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), a recovering alcoholic, is absolutely certain that tomorrow she will die.

She Dies Tomorrow is an ambiguous, slow burn, but never tedious, even with static shots of Amy’s face, centered in frame. It spends most of its time in the first half following Amy as she grapples with the inevitability of her approaching demise. She plays Mozart’s Requiem and drinks. She traces the ridges on the wood floor with her fingers. She presses her body against the wall, as if inviting it to dance. She shops online for urns (I mean, you should get yourself a really nice one, right?) Flashbacks hint at a life of loss and heartache, but the flashbacks, like the curse itself, are intentionally vague. Seimetz enjoys showing tactile moments; the touch of the wood floor, plants between Amy’s fingers. Seimetz also finds a beautiful close-up shot of the bubbles in Amy’s wine that move like drifting stars. If the film’s title were more vague, we would have no clue what was troubling Amy in these moments.

Enter Jane, Amy’s friend (Jane Adams), who initially dismisses Amy’s behavior as a relapse. Adams, a veteran of TV and indie film, is a welcome presence to the film. Her deadpan, unassuming brand of comedy fits in nicely. When her brother Jason (Chris Messina) makes a comment that Jane is still in her pajamas when showing up to his house, she responds, “They’re floral.”  As the curse spreads, it does so in amusing ways, affecting, among others, a handsome doctor (Josh Lucas) and a married couple. Amy remains the film’s center, seeing how much she can push her limits in her final moments.

She Dies Tomorrow is more horror/cringe comedy than it is penetrating psychological drama. If Seimetz dug a little deeper (with perhaps more time - the film is shorter than 90 minutes), she could have emphasized the terror of living with these types of thoughts. But, in spite of Amy being a tragic figure, the tone is overall pretty light. Seimetz operates well within a seemingly modest budget; alternating blue and red lighting and garbled audio indicate the presence of the curse. Seimetz shows images of cells, implying, perhaps, that the curse is biological in origin, and therefore, very real (Jane is an artist whose paintings are inspired by images of cells under a microscope). Seimetz has an interesting vision and, although there is more to explore, She Dies Tomorrow is funny, fresh and original. I’m eager to see what she comes up with next. 

It will be playing at drive-in theaters July 31st and On Demand August 7th.