The Dead Don't Die - Movie Review

In the staggeringly boring town of Centerville, ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ will see Cliff Robertson and Ronnie Peterson fight against an erratic zombie threat. With the light of the sun not going down the undead occur thus resulting in a number of questions and confusion. Since townspeople are fighting zombies, the movie is about small-town life and the rather strange aspects of it.

Combined with a sense of humour, the film comments on environmental problems, greedy consumerism, and the fear of death. This one is quirky and dry and gives a satirical view of the human state and conventions. This tranquility complies with the meditative mood typical of many Jarmusch movies, when humor and inner reflection intervene amidst the pervasive disorder.

The film features great deadpan acting by both Bill Murray and Adam Driver; they bring and host the element of humor, yet treat the zombie peril with unmistakable nonchalance. Tilda Swinton brings some quirkiness playing the character of a samurai sword wielding undertaker and the support cast provides the necessary element of black comedy to the movie. One has to wonder how the zombies will fit into this universe, but the characters are believable, although far from ordinary, representing Jarmusch’s focus on character-driven stories.

Taking over the zombie genre, Jim Jarmusch imbues the film with existential philosophizing, quirky humor, and portrayal of a society on the brink of collapse. His approach presents the audience with horror-comedy dissonance and a slow-burning pace that makes one contemplate about the film’s themes.

The choice of tune that includes the song ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ by Sturgill Simpson complements the film’s cult nostalgic tone. The music well enriches the humor and absurdity of Jarmusch’s narrative approach, as well as the drama.

The cinematography of Frederick Elmes focuses on small-town America, with bright and humorous days and creepy nights. The cinematography adds to the films eccentric mood and plays into the cheeky subtext of the narrative.

The overall look and feel of the film looks putting down the picture perfect small town America with typical diners and police station. Comedy and surrealism seem to be central to styling and setting in this film, as making the impossible seem possible builds credibility of absurdity.

There is moderate use of special effects in the movie, including makeup and appearances usually attributed to zombies. As far as the technical aspects of the film are concerned, this choice fits well with the comedic tenor of the film, not to mention the absence of excessive amounts of gore in favor of character-based humor in a horror film.

The pacing of the film by Affonso Gonçalves is relaxed despite the slow-burning plot of the narrative. This is necessary to accommodate character interactions on various levels, complicated dialogue and clever humor, which are the essential components of the film’s comic-book vibe.

This is not for dynamic action sequences, but because the pace mirrors the sleepy atmosphere of the depicted Centerville and lets jokes breathe. Such pacing could be clashing with the expectations of the viewers looking for a high octane horror yarn which however fits the tempo of Jarmusch’s narratives.

The language is clever, sarcastic, and idiosyncratically Jarmuschian. In some way, its humor aids the comedic factor of the film and moments of self-commentary adds to the metatextuality of the film. Some of the dialogue is rather insightful about the nature of life and death.

That the film takes a fresh spin to the zombie genre is its biggest plus, the slow pace, and the dry humor might not go well down with everyone. Those who are looking forward to just watch zombies and have keen interest on them may find the plot existentialistic messages kind of forced. However, it provides engrossing esoteric social satire to those who are ready to accept Jarmusch’s lens of film making. For those fans that may look for adherence to the guidelines followed in other mystery films, it may not fit the bill but there is a twist for viewers who want to be bit on the offbeat.