The Dead Don’t Die is a 2019 horror comedy about an average town that gets invaded by average zombies.
There are strange things going on in the small town of Centerville. Even more strange than Hermit Bob (Tom Waits) stealing chickens from Farmer Frank (Steve Buscemi). Or the new coroner with the funny accent and ancient swords named Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton). It could be that in this town it doesn’t get dark out at 9pm on a weeknight, or maybe it could be that the dead have returned yet again to wreak havoc on a small unsuspecting population. With Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray), Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) and Officer Mindy Morrison (Chloe Sevigny) as the only cops in the town, will they be able to save everyone? Or will things turn out as Officer Peterson predicts … very bad.
If you’re paying attention, it should be clear from the start that this movie is making fun of how cliché the horror genre has become, especially zombie flicks. But like the comic who has become jaded from telling the same joke over and over again, all the actors here seem a dull and lifeless sort of way (no zombie pun intended). I believe this was a deliberate choice to show audiences that not much thought needs to go into these horror features; just get your standard trope-y characters, present them with a problem that they will never solve, and see what happens. The only real issue is that after you understand the joke, you are still forced to watch the rest of this movie.
The biggest disappointment is the marketing. It tries to sell you on the idea that it’s a horror comedy in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland. The trailers should have presented this as a serious horror film and cut out Murray from the ad spots. I think the humor would have come across way better. However, if they did, maybe most theater chains wouldn’t even show the movie in the first place. Think how cool it would be if Bill Murray showed up in the last act and started fighting zombies. People would cheer out loud. You could even have him turn into the undead but still have him be central to the plot. That would be brilliant.
If this wanted to be a satire or a parody on the horror/zombie movie genre, I wish that it was presented better than what it was here. Scream, Cabin in the Woods, and Tucker and Dale Vs Evil handled their respected all this with better thought and care because they respected the horror genre. Even the fake Wes Anderson-directed horror trailer from SNL was a better attempt than this movie. None of the humor lands expect a few small chuckles here and there, which upsets me because I’m usually a fan of director Jim Jarmusch.
The Dead Don’t Die is Jarmusch’s thirteenth feature film, he a director that I mostly find fascinating. I enjoyed Coffee and Cigarettes, but didn’t care for Dead Man. I’m a fan of Only Lovers Left Alive, but think Broken Flowers worked. With that track record, I’m betting I will love his next movie more than I do this.