The Dead Don't Die -- Jim Jarmusch Film (2019)
Posted: Wed June 04, 2025 12:46 pm
Anyone seen this? It's as stacked with recognizable faces as anything I can recently remember, which is probably more a tribute to Jim Jarmusch's reputation than necessarily the strength of the script.
I pretty much enjoyed it. A real low-key zombie movie, kind of like if Shaun of the Dead had more of a Coen brothers oddball sensibility. Leans pretty hard into meta commentary like name dropping Sturgill Simpson uncountable times of all weird things (he did write the theme song). It's a weird combination of super heavy handed and really subtle. Which I found the heavy handed parts made the subtleties more enjoyable and the heavy handedness might have been jabs at super over-serious zombie movies like 28 Days Later (either the director's commentary or like the DVD's only special feature is basically 100% a screed about the threat of global pandemic, can't remember which).
Anyway, some of the subtleties being Tom Waits' character being the only one paying enough attention to the world around him to notice the changes aside from the glaringly obvious shift in sunrise/sunset times) but he's a 75% crazed hermit barely attached to anyone in the movie. Or the two young police officers both driving eco-friendly cars like good eco-citizens saving the planet while the planet is pretty much doomed by industrial activity anyway. Seems to paint driving smart/battery cars as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic without anyone ever pointing that out.
Anyone else?
I pretty much enjoyed it. A real low-key zombie movie, kind of like if Shaun of the Dead had more of a Coen brothers oddball sensibility. Leans pretty hard into meta commentary like name dropping Sturgill Simpson uncountable times of all weird things (he did write the theme song). It's a weird combination of super heavy handed and really subtle. Which I found the heavy handed parts made the subtleties more enjoyable and the heavy handedness might have been jabs at super over-serious zombie movies like 28 Days Later (either the director's commentary or like the DVD's only special feature is basically 100% a screed about the threat of global pandemic, can't remember which).
Anyway, some of the subtleties being Tom Waits' character being the only one paying enough attention to the world around him to notice the changes aside from the glaringly obvious shift in sunrise/sunset times) but he's a 75% crazed hermit barely attached to anyone in the movie. Or the two young police officers both driving eco-friendly cars like good eco-citizens saving the planet while the planet is pretty much doomed by industrial activity anyway. Seems to paint driving smart/battery cars as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic without anyone ever pointing that out.
Anyone else?