McCoy on Movies: The Dead Don’t Die

THE BACK STORY: The small town of Centerville, Pennsylvania (population 700 and change) is a quiet burg. Chief of Police Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) is used to the sleepy little town, as is his second-in-command Officer Ronald Peterson and fellow officer Minerva “Mindy” Morrison (Chloë Sevingy). While he occasionally has to deal with calls from local farmer Frank Miller (Steve Buscemi) about Hermit Bob (Tom Waits), Cliff is able to enjoy his days usually grabbing coffee and donuts at the diner where Fern (Eszter Balint) and Lily (Rosal Colon) work and local hardware store owner Hank (Danny Glover) hangs out, chatting with local motel manager Danny Perkins (Larry Fessenden) driving past the local gas station where Bobby Wiggins (Caleb Landry Jones) can be found reciting horror movie knowledge with Dean (RZA). Then again, the town has plenty to talk about since new mortician Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton) has proven herself to be quite the character given her style of dress, her voice and … Just about everything else about her. 


But once local news reports start to talk about the possible effects of fracking throwing the earth off its axis, extended periods of daylight become a regular thing and … Oh yeah, people start getting murdered in the most grisly of ways, it seems as if only explanation can be made: The dead are now walking the earth … And they refuse to stay dead.

THE REVIEW: A zombie movie for people who don’t like zombie movies or a movie that zombie movie fans will probably be bored by, The Dead Don’t Die is a satirical take on a genre that has seemingly run its course. Problem is, given its slow pace, extended scenes that don’t need to be anywhere near as long as they are and a few plot points that are either too silly even for a satire or just aren’t explained at all in a way the average moviegoer will appreciate, The Dead Don’t Die will either live or die with each person that sees it.Poking fun at how easily people set themselves up in zombie movies and occasionally breaking the fourth wall with humorous results, The Dead Don’t Die also fails to do anything out of the ordinary, feeling at times like a snarky homage to and the very type of zombie films it looks to skewer. Whereas Murray is the old grizzled veteran that should have quit as time passed him by eons ago, Driver shines as the young “ok, this is how it is now let’s roll” male lead who is smarter than everyone around him. Likewise, Sevingy is the definition of a screaming, scared female character while Swinton delivers on the fearless potential savior/absolute weirdo with a secret that could ONLY exist in a world like this.

Likewise, while some may revel in his apparent message of consumerism, writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s 12th feature-length film does what he traditionally has been known to do: Explore, exploit and ultimately polarize. While some will revel in the various subtle subtext exploration of the zombie genre and the roles actors play within them before suffering their ultimate fates, plenty will simply the see the film as a lot of waiting around for something to happen with a few funny moments … That ultimately ends in the same place as a majority of zombie movies but in less entertaining fashion. Yes, there will be genuinely funny moments … Coupled with a LOT of “seen this before” and “yeah, I get it but … meh” moments.

At 118 minutes in length, one could make a strong argument that cutting at least 20 of them would immensely help the film’s pacing and storytelling to make sure the audience’s enthusiasm for the story doesn’t fade. Then again, that’s not Jarmusch’s style; it’s a take the good with the bland or leave it approach. When it works, it works well to produce laughter and an appreciation for what he is trying to do; at worst, it’s just another zombie movie relying on its actors’ talents to compensate for a lack of storytelling and/or ambitious storytelling that falls short of the mark it aspires to hit. Again, this is Jarmusch’s style, so you’ll either find The Dead Don’t Die to be exactly what the zombie genre has been missing or at the very least appreciate it for what it is … Or absolutely be bored by it as much many Walking Dead fans have been with the show’s latter seasons (or that less inspired Fear the Walking Dead spinoff).

And while The Dead Don’t Die, it certainly seems like this film is ready for the genre to do so – and it’s willing to do its part to make sure that happens sooner than later.

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):