Movie Reaction: The Dead Don't Die

Formula: Shaun of the Dead / Broken Flowers

Is it possible to laugh a lot at a movie and also not care for it? Because that's how I feel about The Dead Don't Die. It's a truly impressive ensemble. Bill Murray in a purely comedic role. Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Caleb Landry Jones, RZA. Selena Gomaz for some reason. Tom Waits in his increasingly annual movie appearance. Even Iggy Pop. And they're all in on the joke. Certain ensembles I just feel privileged to see together in a movie. Clearly, a lot of people either like working with director Jim Jarmusch or wanted to work with him.

The comedy is very dry, very silly, and very self-aware. Jarmusch would rather get a laugh from stretching out a bit than from a punchline. Often, I was on the exact wavelength for the jokes and got several belly laughs. Most of the exchanges between Murray and Driver are perfect. This isn't a parody of zombie movies as much as it is a movie that knows how to use the idea of zombies for humor. I don't know if the humor will be for everyone. You'll know quickly though.

Unfortunately, the movie lost me in a couple ways. The best way I can describe the tone of the movie is to say that it's trying to be clever in plain sight. It doesn't mask the satire. It tells you exactly what the satire is in the simplest way possible and tries to milk laughs from how tactless it is. I tend to dislike movies that pat themselves on the back though. Let the audience decide that a joke or observation is clever. The Dead Don't Die seems really pleased with itself for making this nihilist, Trump-inspired point about the end of the world. I'm not a fan of Trump at all, but I also don't think it's clever to have a character wear a "Keep American White Again" hat. Also, the number one intellectual non-starter for me in a movie or otherwise is to make a point about how this generation is going to be the end of society. Every generation thinks they are the first ones to make this point. Every generation thinks that it's some big revelation. Every generation is wrong. Using zombies in a movie to tell me that we've all grown too distracted by wifi and cable to notice that the world is falling apart is the most boring point imaginable.

I also need meta-commentary to go a little further. Going meta can be a safe way to shield a movie from criticism. If a movie calls attention to its flaws in the movie, then, when audiences come away with the same complaints, a director can defend the movie by saying "yes, that's the point." That's a cop-out.  A movie needs to do something with the meta-commentary; engage it in some way that gets to a larger point. All The Dead Don't Die does is use it to say, "what's the fucking point?". I came away from the movie wondering why I should engage with it if the director wasn't even willing to.

All that said, enough of the humor did work for me to make this a good experience if not a worthwhile one.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend