The Dead Don’t Die

“The Greatest Zombie Cast Ever Disassembled”

It seems strange. Citizens of the country town of Centerville have noticed some unusual things happening in their town, but it is nothing to worry about right? After all, the people on the radio says everything is fine. That is until the dead rise out of their graves. Now it is about survival. Maybe they can figure out what is happening before they are all eaten?

What does Jim Jarmusch’s foray into zombie films add to the genre? Quite a bit in my opinion. Besides the deadpan delivery and dry humor The Dead Don’t Die brings to the table, you also get a bit of realism to a zombie film that I haven’t seen in a while. If you go in expecting every character to suddenly become a weapon-wielding killing machine, you are going to be sadly let down.

However, this does not mean there is not a lot of blood, guts, and zombie slaying. The Dead Don’t Die does not skimp on the zombie-feasting gore, including moments like Iggy Pop (Suck, The Crow: City of Angels) chewing on an intestine hanging from his mouth while staring off camera. There is an alteration to the traditional bloodbath that occurs in a zombie flick. While there is blood from the humans, when zombies are killed, black dust is expelled instead. I was pleasantly surprised that this did not make the film cartoony or feel cheapened against films like Night of the Living Dead or even Zombieland.

The humor in The Dead Don’t Die is extremely dry, but it is packed with jokes that range from silly to meta. Things like lines being repeated from different characters, overly blatant social and political commentary, even having certain characters talk about the director and the plot of the film all give the movie plenty of dry laughs. The wit of The Dead Don’t Die balances jokes that make you laugh with jokes that make you think about why they were funny. It is intelligent, absurd, and fun and that is what makes it good.




The deadpan interactions between most of the characters actually emphasize the great talent of the cast in this film. They are able to build connections between each other without much expression and, in some cases, much interaction. Adam Driver’s (Star Wars: Force Unleashed, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote) rapport with Bill Murray (Caddyshack, Stripes) makes each time they are on screen together fun and entertaining. Hopefully, we will see more of the two of them in future films. Everyone did a phenomenal job in their performances. I enjoyed Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, We Need to Talk About Kevin) in particular for her role in this film. I hope and believe everyone had fun making this movie, but I feel that she got one of the most fun parts.

In fact, the writing of the dialogue in The Dead Don’t Die is so good that everyone meshed well together. Even the characters who were supposed to be strangers or out of place fit in this small country town really well. If this turned into a series I would imagine Centerville could be a neighboring town to Twin Peaks based on the dialogue and chemistry between its citizens.

[SOME POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILERS] The film also plays with expectations. A lot of future development of the story and characters is hinted at and then never fulfilled. Trying not to give too much away, there are moments that in a traditional film plot would lead you to believe a character is a romantic interest or possibly a hero or another may be a villain and then nothing becomes of them. This happens not just with the characters, but with the plot as well. Story elements and plot points are implied or introduced and never addressed by the time the credits roll. They aren’t really left on a cliff hanger due to the film’s ending, they are just resolved in an unusual and, in some cases, more realistic way. [END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS]




The music of The Dead Don’t Die was atmospheric and pulled me back to the era of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s horror films. Not including the theme song, the incidental music was a mixture of synthesizers and electric guitars in a rock format that really emphasized what was being shown on screen. This tickled my nostalgia bone and for fans of older zombie and horror films, I think it will do the same. However, there is a strong similarity to the Stranger Things theme song in some of the songs’ beginnings. As for the theme, it is a drastic departure from the rest of the score. A twangy country song about the dead by Sturgill Simpson. It is really catchy and works well with the movie, but you may find yourself hating it by the end.

The Dead Don’t Die is good, but it is definitely a niche film. You have to enjoy the dry humor, a love for idiosyncratic plots, and release any expectations you have about the cast (they aren’t going to do what you may expect them to anyway). While sitting in the theater, after the credits rolled (I’ve now been conditioned to see if there is an after credits scene in every movie), I heard some happy audience members already quoting lines and some who shuffled out silently like the zombies they had just watched. There was also one who said, “I have no idea what that weird thing I just sat through was.”

Rating:

Jack Savage:

The Dead Don’t Die and that is fine by me when you have Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Adam Driver up against them.

Trailer:

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