The Dead Don't Die

The Dead Don't Die is a 2019 zombie comedy, with a very large cast of really big name actors. The film stars Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Rosie Parez, RZA (from the Wu Tang Clan), and many others, and is directed by Jim Jarmusch. This is a very aware zombie film, that at a few points references the fact that it is a movie, through dialogue delivered by Adam Driver, where he mentions the theme song as the theme song, and when he talks about having read the script.

The film delivers a deadpan comedy delivery, that at times gets a bit too deadpan, and is almost monotonous. The film really nails home the fact that it takes place in a boring little Pennsylvanian town, to the point that it feels like the actors themselves are all bored, and a little slow. It honestly comes across as making fun of how simple small town people are.

I had never heard of this film, until I ran across it at a video store, and massive cast made it seem interesting. I had no idea what to expect, but I honestly was not let down. The film had many humorous elements, and has a slow and intentional build to a rising action as the film progresses. This film doesn't make an attempt at being a great film, but it also doesn't sink to the level of trashy or exploitative as many self-aware horror films do. There is a great social commentary about how people are zombies to convenience and materialism. All in all it is a really well done film, with a great ensemble cast. The film has a catchy theme song, and at times during some of the zombie scenes has some synth music that is very similar to the music from Stranger Things. The film also critiques fracking, and climate change, and pokes fun at red hat wearing Trump supporters, with Steve Buscimi wearing a read hat that says "Keep America White Again", while sitting next to Danny Glover at a diner.

The pacing is intentionally slow, and has an interesting build in action. The production looks really good, with beautiful idyllic small town PA charm, and decent special effects. The actors play there roles really well. The film borders on the zombie bandwagon, with similar tropes, but still maintains a level of uniqueness. The film does however struggle at actually tying its characters together, and some of the characters are just unrelated to the others, which is a little jarring.

Overall, it is a pretty decent movie, that falls far short of being great. There is some great puns, like RZA from Wu-Tang Clan works for a delivery company called WUps, and Rosie Parez plays a character named Pozie Juarez, which is a play on her actual name, there are other little weird things like that added in through out the film. I was definitely not disappointed in the film, it is definitely weird enough to be the type of film that I love.

The film received mixed reviews, when it was released, and I would say I honestly agree with that. The film has some great points that I really enjoyed, but is worthy of negative critique as well.

Would I recommend this film? Yes, though it is definitely not a must see, and I'm not even sure that I would recommend someone spend money to see this film, but if you ever see it on a streaming service it is definitely worth wasting a few hours on. I will definitely watch it again. It was a fun experience.