‘She Dies Tomorrow’ Theories, Explanations, Themes, and Meaning

Sometimes, I like to start my day with a healthy helping of existential dread. Watching She Dies Tomorrow is the perfect way to do that.

Of course, I’m not a psychopath. I didn’t watch this movie first thing in the morning. I watched it for the second time last night, and I once again enjoyed it.

Like all great horror films, it got me thinking. So, I decided to write down my thoughts. Here’s my analysis of She Dies Tomorrow.

Screenshot from “She Dies Tomorrow” trailer.

Top Theories About the Meaning and Themes of ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ (2020)

1. THE INESCAPABILITY OF DEATH (Existential Dread)

Theory: The film is a meditation on mortality and the inevitability of death—how the mere awareness of our own impermanence can be contagious and psychologically devastating.

• Why It Fits:
  • Every character begins to spiral not because of an actual threat, but because of the idea that death is imminent. Like a virus, this existential dread spreads through human interaction, showing how fragile our emotional states are in the face of mortality.
• Key Moments:
  • Amy’s obsession with being useful after death (turned into a leather jacket).
  • Jane’s sudden panic after hearing Amy’s confession.
  • The calm, casual way Sky and Erin accept their fate.
  • The recurring phrase, “I’m going to die tomorrow,” as a mantra of surrender

2. MENTAL ILLNESS AS CONTAGION (Psychological Breakdown)

Theory: The film uses its surreal framework to explore how mental illness—especially depression and anxiety—can ripple outward, affecting others in unpredictable ways.

• Why It Fits:
  • Amy’s spiral could symbolize a depressive episode, and those around her begin to exhibit symptoms not from literal infection, but from emotional proximity. It’s a portrayal of how witnessing someone’s despair can trigger latent fears in others.
• Key Moments:
  • Amy’s monotone repetition of her impending death.
  • Jane’s unraveling after visiting Amy, despite seeming rational at first.
  • The doctor’s breakdown, abandoning his duty to go home.
  • The final image of Amy cycling through “It’s okay” and “I’m not okay,” reflecting instability.

3. PANDEMIC ANXIETY (Sociocultural Parable)

Theory: Though released pre-COVID, the film eerily reflects the themes of contagion, paranoia, and isolation that define life during a pandemic.

• Why It Fits:
  • The “death awareness” functions like a disease—transmitted socially, spread by touch or voice. The way characters quarantine, spiral mentally, or make irrational decisions mirrors collective responses to pandemic fear.
• Key Moments:
  • Jane appearing in pajamas at the party, socially disoriented.
  • People self-isolating, walking around at night, or breaking down.
  • The chaotic hospital scene where Brian kills his father.
  • The nonchalant tone Sky and Erin adopt toward death—pandemic fatigue.

4. FREE WILL VS. FATE (Determinism)

Theory: The film suggests that once a person believes their death is fated, free will collapses. They begin to act in accordance with that belief, making death self-fulfilling.

• Why It Fits:
  • No one questions why they’ll die—only when. The characters stop resisting fate once the thought embeds itself, giving in to a script they think is written for them.
• Key Moments:
  • Craig’s suicide after receiving the “infection.”
  • Jason and Susan deciding not to wake their daughter—resignation.
  • Amy planning her remains, rather than seeking a cure.
  • Jane swimming in a stranger’s pool, already acting as if she’s dead.

5. TRANSCENDENCE AND CONNECTION TO THE UNIVERSE (Spiritual/Metaphysical Reading)

Theory: The “sickness” may represent a heightened awareness of the cosmic scale of life and death—a spiritual awakening so intense it breaks the psyche.

• Why It Fits:
  • Jane’s fascination with microbes, Amy’s staring into the void, and people’s erratic behaviors could all be symptoms of a sudden realization that life is fleeting and humans are just blips in the cosmic order.
• Key Moments:
  • Jane communicating with bacteria through her microscope.
  • Amy lying on the rocks whispering to herself.
  • The constant shift between calm and panic—like spiritual enlightenment gone wrong.

Key Themes in ‘She Dies Tomorrow’

Isolation in Modern Life

She Dies Tomorrow presents characters who are emotionally distant, even in close relationships. Despite parties, phone calls, and shared spaces, characters are fundamentally alone in facing their dread. The film suggests that contemporary life fosters a kind of emotional solitude—one that becomes most visible when people confront something profound, like death.

Emotional Contagion

Rather than focusing on disease in a literal sense, the film explores how moods, fears, and psychological states spread between people. One person’s panic becomes another’s obsession. The theme underscores how vulnerable we are to others’ emotions—and how difficult it is to protect ourselves from shared despair.

Disconnection Between Body and Meaning

Amy’s wish to be turned into a leather jacket reflects a desire to give postmortem utility to her body—highlighting how we often struggle to assign meaning to physical existence. The film repeatedly contrasts organic decay with artificial permanence, questioning whether our bodies are vessels of meaning or just raw material.

Ambiguity and Non-Resolution

The film denies viewers the comfort of clear answers, finality, or a narrative arc with resolution. This thematic ambiguity reflects the human experience of death: unknowable, deeply personal, and fundamentally unresolved. It’s a challenge to narrative convention that aligns with the characters’ psychological unraveling.

Rituals Around Death (or Lack Thereof)

There are no funerals, memorials, or structured grief in She Dies Tomorrow—only scattered, surreal behavior. The absence of ritual emphasizes how ill-prepared people are to deal with death when it arrives suddenly or abstractly. It critiques the erosion of traditional frameworks for coping with mortality.

Plot Summary

• Year Released: 2020
• Director: Amy Seimetz
• Writer: Amy Seimetz

After moving into a new home, Amy becomes convinced she will die the next day. Her unsettling certainty spreads to her friend Jane, who soon shares the same belief. As Jane tells others, the fear continues to pass from person to person like a psychological contagion. Each infected character grapples with their own response—panic, resignation, or eerie acceptance. Through fragmented vignettes, the film follows how this shared fear of imminent death destabilizes relationships, routines, and identity, blurring the line between existential dread and emotional transmission.

Movies with Similar Themes to ‘She Dies Tomorrow’

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Melancholia (2011)

A woman becomes eerily calm as a rogue planet threatens to destroy Earth, while those around her crumble. Explores depression, fatalism, and the psychological weight of impending doom.

—> Watch Melancholia online.

The Leftovers (2014–2017)

After 2% of the world’s population vanishes, survivors struggle with grief, meaninglessness, and the emotional aftershocks of inexplicable loss. Focuses on emotional contagion and spiritual collapse.

—> Watch The Leftovers online.

Take Shelter (2011)

A man is haunted by visions of an apocalyptic storm. Unsure if he’s losing his mind or seeing the future, he builds a shelter, straining his family and grip on reality.

—> Watch Take Shelter online.

It Follows (2014)

A supernatural entity passes from person to person through sexual contact, forcing victims to constantly look over their shoulders. Merges death anxiety with physical transmission.

—> Watch It Follows online.

Coherence (2013)

During a dinner party, a cosmic anomaly causes multiple realities to collide. The characters face paranoia, existential confusion, and loss of identity.

—> Watch Coherence online.

Pontypool (2008)

A deadly virus spreads through language itself, infecting people through the English language. A surreal meditation on communication, hysteria, and mental collapse.

—> Watch Pontypool online.

Annihilation (2018)

A team enters a mysterious zone where biology mutates and memories distort. Themes of self-destruction, transformation, and the unknowable forces of nature dominate.

—> Watch Annihilation online.

The Invitation (2015)

A man attends a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife, where an eerie tension builds. Explores trauma, grief, and the blurred line between paranoia and real danger.

—> Watch The Invitation online.

Have Your Own ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ Theory?

This is a little gem of a mumblegore-adjacent horror film that came out during the pandemic, so I suspect a lot of people missed it.

But you’re here reading my analysis, so I guess you saw it. With that in mind, let me know:

Do you have any theories about She Dies Tomorrow? Any remotely related thoughts you’d like to share?

Leave it all in the comments.

😱