Movie Review: The Dead Don’t Die

 

 
Film Info
 

Release Date: June 14, 2019
 
MPAA Rating: R
 
Starring: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Sara Driver, RZA, Luka Sabbat, Austin Butler, Carol Kane
 
Director: Jim Jarmusch
 
Writer: Jim Jarmusch
 
Producer: Joshua Astrachan, Carter Logan
 
Distributor: Focus Features
 
External Info: Official Site / Facebook / Twitter
 
Genre: ,
 
Critic Rating
 
 
 
 
 


User Rating
1 total rating

 

What We Liked


Indie favorite Steve Buscemi manages to elicit laughs in nearly every scene while Adam Driver successfully breaks the third wall multiple times throughout the film.

What We Didn't Like


It feels as if Jim Jarmusch delivered a half-written script and then filmed using that same script. For that and for wasting his talented cast, Jarmusch deserves a one-year ban from Hollywood.


0
Posted  June 14, 2019 by

 
Read the Full Review
 
 

Every few years, a movie redefines a genre – let’s be clear, The Dead Don’t Die does not, nor will ever, do that for the “zom com” (better known as zombie comedy, aka the rom com’s twisted cousin). Despite boasting what may be the best cast ever assembled for an indie film, writer/director Jim Jarmusch squanders any such opportunity and delivers a film more than deserving of a Razzie than anything else.

The Dead Don't Die poster

Set in Centerville, a town of 738, Jarmusch seems hell bent on introducing as many characters as possible in the film’s sparse 105 minutes. The result? Paper-thin characters that do little to advance or make sense of the plot – Zelda (Tilda Swinton), the strange new samurai-wielding undertaker, Zoe (Selena Gomez) and her “hipster” friends, and three children locked up in the local juvenile detention are just a few examples. Hermit Bob (Tom Waits), a townie who lives in the woods, serves as a pseudo-narrator for reasons still unknown.

Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) patrol the small town and start to notice strange occurrences including longer daylight, animals running away, and electronic devices not working properly. News reports blame the anomalies on polar fracking, Peterson however is certain it’s a zombie apocalypse, especially after a vicious attack at the local diner. What follows is an uneven film that haphazardly introduces political commentary around consumerism and climate change into an already weak script.

The Dead Don't Die

Adam Driver in “The Dead Don’t Die.”

All is not lost –Driver nails nearly every line he’s given, including his repeating that it’s “all going to end badly.” Steve Buscemi walks away unscathed as Racist Farmer Frank because, well, he’s Steve Buscemi and he brings life to nearly every role he plays. And a running joke about Sturgill Simpson’s theme song lands most of the time. Dumb? Yes, but when a movie is billed as a comedy odds are that it will deliver at least a few laughs.

Saying that this movie is lifeless is insulting to the dead. With its star-studded cast, The Dead Don’t Die definitely had the potential to be a classic “zom com” alongside Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009), but ultimately deserves to be buried alongside the poorly reviewed and rarely seen Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015). Rather than spending your well-earned money watching a seemingly bored Bill Murray here, cuddle up on the couch and watch him steal the show in Zombieland (2009).

Mark Eaton

Mark Eaton

Mark is an entertainment junkie, spending much of his leisure time watching movies, TV, or listening to any and all genres of music. Most evenings, after finishing a day of work and hanging with his wife and kids, Mark can be found in an eternal battle with his DVR, trying to clear it before another 5-6 hours of shows are recorded the next day. With a past career in the publishing industry, working with libraries and K12 and academic institutions, one would think that Mark adopted a greater love of reading books, however if it isn’t the newspaper, entertainment industry magazines (Variety and Entertainment Weekly are his favorites), or perusing websites such as Deadline, THR, and Cinemablend, it doesn’t readily exist in Mark’s universe. Favorite Films: Goodfellas, Cocktail, Top Gun, Dazed and Confused, The Breakfast Club, Austin Powers, Airplane
Mark Eaton

Latest posts by Mark Eaton (see all)