The Dead Don't Die Review
R: For zombie violence/gore, and for language
Studios: Focus Features, Animal Kingdom
Run Time: 1 Hr and 43 Minutes
Writer/Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Sara Driver, RZA, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits
The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.
Well, it’s baby’s first Jim Jarmusch movie. By baby I mean me. I’m baby.
Yup, I had never seen a Jim Jarmusch movie before so best close the tab now.
Just kidding. Don’t do that.
I’ve been meaning to watch a Jarmusch movie for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, I’ve always wanted to see Only Lovers Left Alive, because I had a Tom Hiddleston obsession at the time, and Paterson, because it was huge Oscar bait.
Now we have The Dead Don’t Die, Jarmusch’s first full-on comedy, which may not be for the faint of heart in regards to humor.
In the podunk town of Centerville, USA, two officers -- Cliff (Murray) and Ronnie (Driver) -- find themselves, along with their wacky peers who reside in this town, overrun by the undead who just pop out from their graves. Now, they must survive the night and protect any living being in sight from the zombie attacks.
Hollywood is no stranger to zombie comedies. There’s so much that a film can develop from the sub genre, especially when you hybridize it. From romance (Warm Bodies) to adventure (Zombieland) to even musicals (Anna and the Apocalypse), there’s always a fresh new take you can explore with zombie flicks. What Jim Jarmusch creates with this feature is mostly a laid back, deadpan/surrealist comedy. For him to assemble such a great ensemble of A-to-B-List talent, I’m thoroughly surprised and appreciative of how much this resembles something straight off of Adult Swim. I can just imagine Jarmusch watching a few seasons of Tim & Eric after marathoning some George Romero classics and getting the inspiration out of that.
If you’re a fan of comedies such as Tim & Eric or Aqua Team Hunger Force where the majority of the delivery of the cast members is monotonous, but there is always some sort of hilarious chaotic foolishness occurring on screen, then this movie is for you. The most successful aspects Jarmusch accomplishes are the recurring gags and visual gags. A ton of the film’s visual humor is funny, mostly because it relies on its cast members embodying an estranged personality and having a distinctive quirk that just garners laughs, i.e. Tilda Swinton as a Scottish, sword-wielding warrior who is also an undertaker, Adam Driver as an awkwardly pessimistic cop who drives a smart car, Caleb Landry Jones as a nerdy gas station clerk who everyone calls Frodo... stuff like that. Seeing actors appear out of their norm and doing something silly, displaying their comedic range with good writing backing it up, is enjoyable to watch. Then, there are recurring gags that are downright hysterical with each occurrence.
The picture is primarily held by Murray and Driver, whose dynamic I could watch for days. The relationship they share as these two cops is already so bogged down by the mundane atmosphere of the town that when the zombie apocalypse begins, they’re just placid to the situation and treat it as a pest control situation rather than panicking. Murray is very reserved in his performance and Driver is just a hoot. Both of them together on screen were the areas where I got some of the best chuckles.
If I had to hand a “Most Valuable Scene Stealer Award,” it would be to Tilda Swinton who is hysterical every second that she’s on screen. It’s already enough that the British actress is nailing a Scottish accent, but seeing her strolling around this small town, slashing zombies like a samurai wearing red eyeshadow, is hysterical. Every line of dialogue out of her mouth had me ranging from small chuckles to guffaws of laughter.
Another aspect that I liked were the zombies themselves. Their shtick is gravitating towards the activities and most desirable pleasures they had spent their time doing while alive, which makes for some funny visual gags. Like, you’ll see shots of zombies trying to break into a pharmacy to get xanax. Or, in the background on the streets, you’ll see one on a smartphone. When they’re killed, it's not all blood and gore, but ash, which is something I appreciate because I’m personally fatigued by the constant black gush of blood that’s expected with zombie violence. Don’t get me wrong, the film is violent and gory, especially when it involves the death of humans, but seeing the differences between zombie deaths and human deaths gave this a refreshing spark.
There are a lot of areas to appreciate within The Dead Don’t Die. Now, if it wasn’t so scatterbrained with its execution (I’m not trying to make a pun on purpose I swear), then this would’ve been something significant.
The film doesn’t contain enough wit to hold down its dead-on-arrival humor. It relies more on mugging the camera or reaction shots. There are some hysterical moments, but not enough, for it lacks energy. Although its lack of energy is the intention, the humor doesn’t hold the heave the entire picture up.
I’m all for meta humor but when it’s inconsistent with the rest of the humor in the movie, it comes across as cheap. There are several moments where Ronnie makes fourth wall jokes to Cliff regarding the film they’re in and, while they do manage to get a laugh, it’s never earned due to the fact that these are the only two characters making fourth wall-breaking jokes and they only do it twice.
Jarmusch tries way too hard to have the premise be caused by real world issues which bares no kind of sense at all. Early on, it’s established via telecast that the cause of the zombie outbreak is the result of fracking and global warming, which are two major relevant issues of today. I get it’s for creative purposes, but reading about how Jarmusch wanted it to be a “Trump Era” kind of comedy makes it comes off as muddled. He tries too hard to apply modern day relevance with some of the characters, but then doesn't do anything except make obvious jokes that fall flat on their faces. You have Steve Buscemi as a redneck wearing a MAGA hat and the only joke that stems from it is an awkward conversation between him and Danny Glover’s character.
While I’m complimenting some of the large ensemble cast, a lot of the featured ones don’t have much to do except appear. Some have clever jokes attached (RZA as a delivery man), but some serve no purpose at all. Aside from that, there are way too many characters present with subplots that ultimately lead to dead ends. There’s a subplot featuring Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, and Luka Sabbat as hipsters which goes nowhere and even the jokes regarding them being hipsters fail constantly, for none of their actions or lines of dialogue even resemble the attitudes of hipsters. Then, there’s another subplot between kids held in a juvenile detention center that also goes nowhere at all. At least with the former subplot, it ends on a somewhat funny note, but the latter doesn’t even have an ending. The film never achieves anything with its premise because it doesn’t really go anywhere outside of a zombie survival flick with one too many characters who serve no purpose.
While his heart is in the right place, Jarmusch seems to be juggling way too many ideas and tones to even get a distinct placement of what kind of comedy he’s trying to achieve. When it's running on deadpan humor as the major backbone, the film moves at a sluggish pace that not many will not enjoy -- even fans of the director. I witnessed a ton of people -- mostly Jim Jarmusch fans -- walking out of the early access screening of the film halfway through.
That said, there is an audience for this that I believe can work.
While The Dead Don’t Die doesn’t intend to be a stoner comedy, I feel this suits that audience perfectly... mostly college students who are high. I was discussing this with my friend Matt Neglia from Next Best Picture after we saw the film and we came to a common ground, agreeing that the film works much better as a movie you watch with your friends in the background as you guys just shoot the shit and talk over it until a huge hysterical moment occurs. Then, when you feel that lull, you start talking again. There’s no need to see this in a theater, for it’s an enjoyable rental.
The Dead Don’t Die boasts a big ensemble and provides some fun, wit, and clever gags, but the lack of consistent humor and the dead-on-arrival pacing makes it just an average zombie flick.
Rating: 2.5/5 | 55%
