The Dead Don't Die has a uniquely dry humor to it that won't be everyone's cup of tea.
“In the sleepy small town of Centerville, something is not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behavior. No one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing the town: THE DEAD DON’T DIE – they rise from their graves and savagely attack and feast on the living – and the citizens must battle for their survival.”
The Dead Don’t Die isn’t your typical zombie film, far from it. If you know anything about the director Jim Jarmusch, his films are much more surreal, with a definite unique humor to them that isn’t for everyone. The Dead Don’t Die follows this trend, and with a stellar cast involved, the allure of seeing this ensemble in a zombie film and expecting something normal for the genre would be a mistake.
What made the film enjoyable for me was definitely the characters and the traits each actor brought to them. There are so many great names attached to the film, each sequence needs to stand out from the others, and they do. Although they aren’t all entirely interconnected, what surprised me the most was how organically they flowed from one to the other as the viewer slowly learns about the cause of the strange events happening all over the planet, and the eventual rise of the dead.
Jim Jarmusch has stuck with people he’s worked with in the past, giving pretty much everyone a role and what seems like carte blanche to do whatever they want. Interestingly, he puts a lot of musicians in his films, and though Tom Waits has a great presence, RZA, on the other hand, I’ve never found to be enjoyable on screen, and his continuous joke with Sturgill Simpson is pretty funny. Bill Murray and Adam Driver have great on-screen chemistry which includes very dry humor and wit between them, even breaking the fourth wall at times. This is the type of humor that Bill Murray excels at, the type where it’s almost funnier because of the absence of regular humor. His delivery is perfect, easily the best part of this film. The rest of the cast follows suit in giving their best quirky performances that set the same tone of the film. Also, for a film that focuses on dry humor and dialogue, there are some decent special effects in this, especially at the end of the film.
The Dead Don’t Die isn’t going to be for everyone, and while I typically try to go into films with no expectations, this is the exception. You should know what you’re going into here, especially due to the unique type of subtle humor the film is going for. That being said, if you don’t enjoy this slow burn type of film, you’ll find the pacing to be very slow. Although that seems to be the point of the film, it can still make it a hard watch if you aren’t attracted to this type of humor. That doesn’t forgive some of fairly boring parts of the story, however, including an ending that seems very muddled like they couldn’t decide how to conclude everything.
There isn’t a lot of action, excitement, or anything fast paced, but that’s the beauty of the film. If you can appreciate this unique style and commentary on society, and laugh at the absurdness of everything taking place and ignore some of the less than stellar moments, you may have a good time watching The Dead Don’t Die.
Video
The Dead Don’t Die is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.78:1. The transfer looks good, clear and concise throughout. The beginning of the film takes place in the daytime, with colors looking nice and balanced, everything very bright. As the film progresses to nighttime, it doesn’t look bad, but you lose quite a bit of detail.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Although most of the film will be presented through the center channel in the form of dialogue, there is a fair amount of atmospheric effects toward the latter half. The track has a good balance between the surrounds and center channel, as well as the score which is basically Sturgill Simpson playing over and over.
Special Features
There are a few very short featurettes on this disc with snippets from a lot of the cast talking about their experience on the film and working with Jim Jarmusch.
- Bill Murray: Zombie Hunting Action Star
- Stick Together
- Behind the Scenes of The Dead Don’t Die
Fans of Jim Jarmusch will totally get what the director is trying to say with The Dead Don’t Die, but those looking for a straight zombie horror gorefest will be disappointed. If you enjoy that dry sense of humor and wit that Bill Murray pulls off brilliantly, then you may want to check this one out.
