The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Fans of indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch might have some fun with his latest film, the zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die.  It's full of quirky characters, droll humor and, to be honest, some funny lines that had me laughing.  But don't go in expecting another Shaun of the Dead, as the film meanders for most of its run time, and the ensemble cast don't really have enough to sink their teeth into.  They might be having fun, but it doesn't translate to the screen.

The film opens outside the small town of Centerville, as Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) confront Hermit Bob (Tom Waits) about his possible involvement with some missing chickens from Farmer Frank (Steve Buscemi).  Driving back to town, the two discover radio issues, phones and watches shutting down, and the sun not setting, even through its 8 pm.

 Hi, I'm Hermit Bob, and I'll be providing some insight for this movie.

Hope you weren't expecting someone else,

'cause I'm all you've got.

The cause of all the problems is the result of polar fraking, which has changed the axis of the Earth.  Aside from changing the time of sunset and setting up electrical interference that disables phones and watches, and causes domestic animals, from dogs and cats to cows and chickens, to start freaking out and running into the woods.

Everyone in the town is talking about the event and listening to conflicting points of view on the radio, but no one seems too concerned, which derails the movie a bit.  These people are in the middle of a massive planetary change, which occurred almost overnight, and their reaction is to simply shrug their shoulders.  Okay, maybe some people might act that way, but the film really needed a few other characters freaking the hell out. 

Hey, the reporter just said the end is nigh.

I feel I'm taking the news pretty well. 

Guess the Prozac is working better than I thought.

That night, a pair of zombies (one played by Iggy Pop) arise from their plots in the local cemetery and gnaw on the diner waitress Fern and overnight cleaner Lily.  Of course, everyone who sees the carnage comments that it looks like the work of a wild animal.  Or a pack of them.  Yeah, that line is repeated several times in five minutes, as if each delivery was comic gold, but repetition doesn't make it any funnier.

Anyway, given the strange behavior of the local animals, the theory seems plausible, but Ronnie floats the idea that zombies attacked the pair the previous night.  Checking out the cemetery, Cliff and Ronnie find the two empty graves, and still don't act too worried.  Or surprised.  Or even curious.  Seriously, something must be in the water causing the apathetic condition in most of the town's citizens, as no one seems too concerned about any damn thing.  It's enough to make you wish the zombies would show up and finally bite everyone in the town on the ass.

Hey, the dead are coming back to life.  

Shouldn't we act a bit more concerned, 
or, I don't know, maybe freaking out?

As for the zombies, I guess these ones during the first attack are allergic to sunlight, as they simply vanish for a while and we are introduced to more quirky characters, including sword welding undertaker Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton), officer Mindy (Chloë  Sevigny), who appears to be the only one having some emotional outburst, a trio of 20-somethings stopping in town for the night, and a few others. 

But finally, night falls, the graveyard empties and zombie mayhem ensues.  Along with even more quirky dialog and weird happenings.

Finally, the zombies are here.  Any more apathetic, quirky interactions

and I was ready to choke on my popcorn.

I have to confess, I'm not a fan of the droll, quirky humor that seems to be a staple of independent films today.  That's not to say I can't enjoy such films, but it was obvious that everyone else in the audience found more humor in the movie than I.  Or it could be they were grasping for anything to laugh at, as the film drags at several points. 

Ronnie pulling up in his smart car got the biggest laugh

from the audience in the entire movie.
And I'm not sure why that was the funniest part.

And no, I didn't go into the film expecting extended moments of zombie mayhem like more recent zombie comedies.  As the trailer made evident, the appeal of the film was built around the cast, who do their best with the material.  That's not to say the film doesn't have a few nice moments of zombie action.  But Jarmusch's script doesn't deliver the beats that makes a zombie film work, whether it's a comedy or more serious in tone.

Unless you're treading in Italian gut-muncher territory, a zombie film has to say something about society, either through the characters or the zombies (preferably both).  And Jarmusch injects some interesting directions the film might have taken throughout the film.  In fact, at one point early on, I thought he might have intended the film to be a critique on the process of movie making.  That moment came during a fourth wall breaking scene concerning the song The Dead Don't Die by Emmy winning country singer Sturgill Simpson.  And using the zombies to comment on audience and studio expectations could have been a lot of fun.

But the script drops this, and every other potential direction for the film to take, to focus on the underdeveloped characters populating the town.  It's a shame, as the approach just wasn't enough to create a interesting film.

As I said above, the cast delivers what they can with the material.  I just wished the script had more meat on its bones for them to gnaw on, giving them some moments to deliver a more human response to the events unfolding around them.  Instead, only officer Morrison is allowed to freak out at the incoming zombie attack and the horrible acts everyone must do in order to stay alive.  And the film has ample opportunity to give the cast something a bit more dramatic, and interesting, to play off of, rather than just walk through the zombie apocalypse as if it was just another day.

That said, I'd have watched an entire movie filled with

Tilda Swinton whacking zombies with her sword.  

That would have been AWESOME!

I didn't expect The Dead Don't Die to be a rollicking zombie comedy.  But I was hoping for the cast to get a bit more to chew on.  It's a beautiful looking film, but you might find the delicious meal promised by the trailer to be rather pale once it's served.

This is Sturgill Simposn.  Check out his song, The Dead Don't Die.

It deserves to be in a better zombie movie than this one.