The Dead Don't Die

I had only seen Ghost Dog by Jarmusch before, but I know he has earned a wide range of fans with his unconventional approach to filmmaking. However, he had never tackled a zombie film until now, so I decided to give it a chance. The cast is undoubtedly the biggest draw for viewers. The central duo of Bill Murray and Adam Driver had great chemistry, exchanging well-crafted lines for most of the film. Tilda Swinton, with her crazy role as a Scottish samurai warrior running a funeral home (I mean, who comes up with this stuff...), was also a highlight. The casting for the supporting roles clearly showed that the filmmakers put a lot of effort into it. The plot truly stands out from the usual and well-worn storylines, combining a ghastly apocalypse with remnants of modern civilization (for example, the scenes where the undead march while mentioning Wi-Fi, coffee, or Siri are genuinely hilarious). While it offers decent action, the ending was excessively over the top. I’m not sure what Jarmusch intended, but it simply went too far. To sum it up, besides the fantastic actors, the film also relies on a good dose of humor. There are numerous entertaining moments (like the discussions about the script). And one more thing... today, I experienced a laugh-out-loud moment in a movie theater for the first time (Adam Driver as a cop arriving at the scene in his red Smart car... honestly, I was laughing about it for a long time). I give it 74%. (2019-07-08)

The Dead Don’t Die is a slow, hipster zombie satire based on repetition of the same jokes and situations which constantly makes fun of the fact that it is a slow, hipster satire based on repetition of the same jokes and situations. It sometimes works very well, sometimes not so much. In the context of Jim Jarmusch’s earlier genre deconstructions, the film is inspiring (not only are genre conventions exaggerated, but are also commented upon by the actors, who step out of their roles and express their opinions on the screenplay) thanks to a cast that has superbly mastered deadpan humor and numerous references to (Romero’s) zombie horror movies and other old films (a headstone with the name Samuel Fuller inscribed on it) and it is fairly entertaining throughout its running time. The film is neither a summer hit nor the peak of Jarmusch’s filmography (it is sloppy especially visually and in the interconnection/variation of individual motifs), where The Dead is found in the paradoxical position of a film that is simultaneously his least and most serious work (the planet is in a state of decay and in order for it to regain its balance, humans will have to get out of the way), but I rather imagine it is not the absolute failure that the responses from Cannes warned against. 75% (2019-06-27)

That Jarmusch has taken the reins of zombie horror isn't really all that surprising. It's not the first time he's decided to paraphrase a pure genre film, see Dead Man, Only Lovers Left Alive, or Limits of Control. The problem is that the aforementioned films still managed to exist on their own, allowing their characters to coexist in the distinctive Dada universe where the stories in question took place. The Dead Don't Die is pure and simply a parody of the contemporary mainstream, its characters, practices, exuberant self-reflection, pop culture references, futile attempts at socio-cultural and ecological relevance, and repetition of centuries-old schemas. While the simple method of portraying all these aspects, albeit in a completely unspectacular manner and with actors who alternate dry declamations with unbearable overacting, achieves the desired results in places, it also fails to carry the whole film. The problem is that, unlike Jarmusch's previous films, DDD doesn't contain that distinctive universe where its story takes place and where its events would make some kind of sense. In this way, The Dead Don't Die is really just a pouting poke at the commercial cinematic present, but one that it helps co-create instead of mounting active resistance against it from the barricades of auteur independent film. For as the saying goes: if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. PS: anyway, clearly the best joke of the film is that the naked zombie character is played by the same actress who played the famous naked zombie in the original Night of the Living Dead from 1968. Too bad you can only pick up on that if you read the trivia. (2019-10-04)

The American-Swedish movie The Dead Don't Die proves all the good titles for zombie horror movies are probably exhausted. This movie is Jarmusch's attempt at a zombie horror, although he failed. It was an attempt where the most positive thing was that popular actors and singers wanted to be in it because Jim Jarmusch was involved and, unfortunately, that is all the movie has to offer. (2019-09-18)

The talented Jim Jarmusch serves up a zombie comedy with a perfect cast, it feels like all the money was spent on the actors, but not much left for the film itself. It has rather ugly visuals, a very slow pace (slower than zombies), almost no gore, minimal tension and atmosphere, and the only thing that sort of works are the jokes, but even those don't wake you up from your micro-sleep. The director knew that a lot of people would be bored, so he snuck in at least a few movie references to keep the audience entertained. Didn’t like it. 40% (2019-09-05)