The Dead Don't Die

In small-town Centerville, police chief Cliff (Bill Murray) and deputies Ronnie (Adam Driver) and Mindy (Chloe Sevigny) face petty crimes, such as the alleged theft by survivalist Hermit Bob (Tom Waits) of ornery Farmer Miller’s (Steve Buscemi) chickens. But when polar fracking sends the earth off its axis, strange things begin to happen, culminating with the dead returning to life. Now facing a zombie epidemic, Centerville must rely on its overmatched police force, a film-loving gas station owner (Caleb Landry Jones), a well-provisioned hardware store owner (Danny Glover), and a bizarre, sword-wielding Scottish mortician (Tilda Swinton).

Though The Dead Don’t Die is the first wide theatrical release of writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s nearly four-decade career, it is no mainstream affair. Outrageous characters, lackadaisical pacing, dark humor work to preserve Jarmusch’s idiosyncratic style, and those who have grown to appreciate it will find plenty to like here. On the other hand, the uninitiated may find themselves wondering what the hell they just watched.

As mentioned, The Dead Don’t Die is not a tightly plotted film. It takes its time establishing characters and setting, the aesthetics never fully reinforce the danger that the story suggests, and it all builds to an abrupt conclusion many will find unsatisfying. It’s central conceit (polar fracking = purple moon and zombies) is ludicrous even by the standards of the genre, and its criticism of consumer culture – the zombies cry out for coffee and wifi rather than brains – is laughably (in both senses of the word) heavy-handed. One is better off viewing this as a parody of clumsy speculative message movies than such a movie in its own right.

Of course, there is an all-too-easy antidote to the film’s various lapses and transgressions: don’t take it too seriously. Freed from expectations, The Dead Don’t Die is a lot of fun. Murray is in peak deadpan form for most of the film until exasperation overtakes him at the end, and he is matched, underreaction for underreaction, by Driver. Swinton showcases her immense versatility by playing her insane (Zelda was practicing her swordplay before any inkling of zombies) role with gusto. Not only are there fine performances, but there are also recurring jokes (zombie victims are repeatedly speculated to be the results of predation by one or more wild animals by each party to discover them), visual gags (6’2” Driver speeds to the scene of a crime in small smart car, and amusing allusions (RZA plays a deliveryman for “WuPS.” Then there’s the oft-played (and, in-universe, oft-debated) title song by country crooner Sturgill Simpson. Love it or hate it, its presence is the glue that holds this film together.

Despite its higher-than-usual profile and very recognizable cast, The Dead Don’t Die is hardly Jarmusch’s opus, and those unaccustomed to his quirks will find it all the more trying. But for anyone inclined to forgive its meandering and goofiness, it’s a genuinely funny zombie comedy that is worth watching for the cast alone.