‘She Dies Tomorrow’ is latest in a string of films that find humans battling contagion – Detroit Free Press

Fear and uncertainty are as familiar in2020 as Zoom meetings and social distancing. Still,you have to stay positive, establish a healthy routine and find ways to cope withwhat can feel like existential dread.

That's what makes an early scene from "She Dies Tomorrow," available Friday on streaming platforms and video on demand, so scary. During a phone call, a friend offers some advice toayoung woman who's feelinga sense ofclaustrophobic doom: Go for a walk, or why dont you try watching a movie?

Bothare common stress relievers for life in the COVID-19pandemic. But be aware thatwatching "She Dies Tomorrow" won't distract you from what's happening. The grippingindieisabout facing yourdread when fearfulness itself becomes contagious.

Kate Lyn Sheil in 'She Dies Tomorrow' by writer/director Amy Seimetz(Photo: Jay Keitel)

For at least six months now, movies have been providingcoronavirus catharsis.Early this year, "Contagion" (2011), a taut drama starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Laurence Fishburne,reached the hot zone of rentalpopularity with its fact-basedvisionofwhat would happen if a virus spread across the world and claimedmillions of lives.

Just recently, "Host" arrived on the streaming site Shudder. The horror film, shot entirely on Zoom,takes place asa bunch of friends in lockdown gather online for a seance thatunleashes some serious nastiness. The concept plays off of quarantine tensions and brings new meaning to experiencing a virtual meetingfrom hell.

A group of friends attend a seance over Zoom and the results are scary in the horror movie "Host," filmed during quarantine.(Photo: SHUDDER)

"She Dies Tomorrow," written and director byAmy Steimetz, explorestimeless themes that just happento correspond to the constant worry that hasbecome 2020's mood board. The story centers on Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), who guzzles white wine after becomingconvincedthat she will die tomorrow.

Amy's fear doesn't appear to be an offshoot of depression. She caught it from another person, and she spreads it to anyone she physically encounters. Super creepy and superbly unresolved, Steimetz's new movieis ameditation on facing mortality that contains surprising splashes of dark humor. For instance, when Amykeeps lifting the needle of herrecord player to listen over and over to Mozarts gloomy Requiem, its a pretty clear example of how not to wallow in misery. If time is running short, why not put on some vintageGo-Go's or Princes 1999?

"She Dies Tomorrow" is a moody,intense portrait of trapped characters --including a solitary scientist played by wonderfulJane Adams (HBO's "Hung") --who must wrestle with what it means to be approaching their final day. Should they drop thelimits of polite behavior and start saying and doing things they otherwise would self-censor?Is thata goodchoice? It's certainly an honest one.

More: Detroit author's 'Bird Box' sequel has eerie connections to face masks in 2020

With the real-life pandemic continuingto surge and no imminent end to itin sight, no wonder life is paralleling scary movies. In "Bird Box" (2018), wearing a mask (in this case,a blindfold) is the only weapon against mysterious creatures that provokelethal madness with a single glimpse. There's even arelevant plot point over whether masks are necessary orjust a response to a mass hysteria. But rest assured that Sandra Bullock's character stays masked and serves asthe Dr. Fauci of the "Bird Box" universe.

There also are echoes of 2020 in Children of Men (2006), a classic dystopian film from director Alfonso Cuaron that sends astrong told-you-so message about the costs of climate change and systemic inequality. Its scenario of an infertility pandemic, coupled withhuge migrations of refugees, is a nightmarishtake on a future with worsening income inequality, health care disparities and brutalization of asylum seekers. Even the formidable Clive Owen has a tough time shouldering thismany problems at once.

'Children of Men' (2006).(Photo: Universal Pictures)

World War Z" (2013) is the best recentspin on a zombiedisaster. Its premise is that humans gain incredible speed once they're infected with azombie bug, making any effort to socially distance from their biting rangeextremely difficult. Yet "World War Z" is an oddly comforting action thriller, maybe because it offersBrad Pitt racing to the rescue (and he actually played Dr. Fauci on "Saturday Night Live"). Pitt doesn't survey the global crisis and say, "It is what it is." He's relentless in the search for a vaccine, brushing off a plane crash as if it were a flat tire.

Brad Pitt discovers that high fever lead to zombie-itis in "World War Z" (2013).(Photo: Paramount)

For the ultimate in pandemic-fueled pandemonium, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (both the 1956 original and a 1978remake) reveals the hazards of trying to stay safe whileothers are downplaying a crisis.An allegory for the 1950s Red Scare, it imaginesa plague of seed pods arriving from outer space. The pods grow exact copies of humans, only these doubles lackfree will and emotions.When one man (Kevin McCarthy in the '56 version, Donald Sutherland in '78) tries to expose the truth of what's happening, he's essentially deemed fake news.

Donald Sutherland in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1978).(Photo: Courtesy of United Artists)

Scary movies have always been a place to work out some of our deepest fears -- even for filmmakers. In theproduction notes for "She Dies Tomorrow," Seimitz describedthe origin of the story. "I was dealing with my own personal anxiety and found I was spreading my panic to other people by talkingabout it perhaps too excessively while simultaneously watching a ton of news and watching mass anxiety spreading on the right and left politically," shesaid. "All this while remembering losing my father and many friends,that we all die at some point. We dont know what to do but keep living, realizing the absurdity and tragedy that with life comes death."

Seimetz notes that the characters in her latest film keepsaying that everyoneis going to die because they no longer can avoid that fact."Its just most of the time, you can push that truth aside and be as shallow or oblivious as you want to be."

Terrifying stuff, right? Ormaybea timelessreminder that time is precious. If"She Dies Tomorrow" feels like 2020 condensed intoone script, well, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes than with a smart, thought-provoking movie.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

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'She Dies Tomorrow' is latest in a string of films that find humans battling contagion - Detroit Free Press

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero