The Dead Don't Die

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. (18/09/2019)

This is an experimental, intellectually-ironic zombie film from a director who despises standard commercial zombie films, and that’s exactly the way it looks. Deliberately throwing away the rules of the zombie genre and overturning conventions and stereotypes sounds petulant rather than innovative, and the result is a purely anti-entertaining and random-acting film with a deliberately sloppy screenplay full of repetitions and unused characters that only accomplishes exhausted and shallow social satire and a few meta-jokes. What’s more, the film’s pace is slower than the shuffling gait of the wheezing undead, focusing on viewers who will never watch it in most cases because of its chosen theme. (05/10/2020)

As long as Jim Jarmusch is pouring all sorts of pop culture references to classic horror (and other) movies and filmmakers into his work, he is knowingly winking at modern trends (like the WUPS delivery company), or almost breaks down the fourth wall between the viewer and what is going on in the movie, it is frankly hilarious. However, if the audience asked Jim for some interestingly written and compelling characters or a plot that makes at least a little sense, they would be disappointed. Not to mention that J.J. recapitulates the "Romero" critique of consumerist society too literally - over and over again. The Dead Don't Die is definitely an entertaining movie you can have a good time with at the movie theater, but there is no miracle here this time, and I had such high hopes with Jarmusch. (07/07/2019)

I don't really seek out zombie movie – in fact I tend to avoid them – but in this case the director's name was enough to guarantee me that it would be something more than just a mere killing spree. Fortunately, I wasn't wrong and in the end I quite enjoyed this cruelly parodic statement about the bleak state of the contemporary world, where almost all people constantly succumb tor consumerist cravings like some kind of gluttonous zombies. I was amazed at how masterfully Jim Jarmusch managed to touch so many raw nerves at the end. (75%) (10/02/2023)

Jarmusch wrote the characters to fit his iconic cast, letting them make off-base comments and humorously react to what we know from zombie movies. Accompanied by mystical guitar riffs such as those used in Dead Man, but at a slightly brisker pace, with the forester Tom Waits observing the end of the world from a distance, a pure zombie role for Iggy Pop, who washes down the freshly bitten off bloody guts of a housekeeper with coffee from her coffee machine, not forgetting the passion and broad knowledge of young genre geeks. There is nice buddy chemistry between the cop duo of Murray and Driver, who represent two generations of Jarmuschian dramedy heroes. A pleasant chill-out movie with surprisingly full-fledged gore, The Dead Don’t Die is not groundbreaking in any respect, but still offers a refreshing take on well-used tropes. For the stalwart Jarmusch fans who once pursed their lips at the “commercialism” of Night on Earth, it will be another on of Jim’s “breaks”. I’m not sure, though, if it’s going to earn anything for Universal in the multiplexes - the body count is abundant and the CGI high-quality, but the popcorn-devouring youth might still find the whole movie overly traditional and not dynamic enough, while Jarmusch fans just don’t go to multiplexes. [Cannes] (15/05/2019)