SIFF 2019: "The Dead Don't Die" Review

For The Dead Don’t Die, competent storytelling is an optional component of filmmaking. On it’s lengthy opening credits, the film lists celebrity after celebrity featured in the film. It’s just a shame that such an ensemble had to go to waste on such a brainless project.

In The Dead Don’t Die, the world is knocked off its axis because of arctic fracking. This event causes the dead to rise, leaving groups of characters to try surviving a zombie invasion. It’s ludicrous, but suspension of disbelief is necessary for any zombie film. The problem with The Dead Don’t Die is director Jim Jarmusch never gives audiences a good reason to suspend that disbelief.

There’s so much about this production that’s disjointed. Characters and storylines weave their way in and out of the narrative, but then either end abruptly or are forgotten. Politically charged messaging about environmentalism and media can’t be taken seriously because it’s so haphazardly incorporated.

And worse of all, this production is tone deaf at how much repetition is too much. Like how Adam Driver’s character incessantly reminds his police partners that “this is going to end badly”. Rather than foreshadowing, the overused line is blatant evidence that the project was always meant to be lazy and halfhearted.

The Dead Don’t Die does offer all of the blood, guts, and gore that typically comes with a zombie flick. But like all of the blood, guts, and gore spewed after a zombie feast, The Dead Don’t Die is a mess.

Acting and Casting - 0 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 0 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?