I thought The Dead Don’t Die was just ok, this 2019 zombie comedy ensemble film by Jim Jarmusch. It has a great cast of actors from Jim Jarmusch movies, but there’s this flat level of energy that runs throughout the film that made it feel less exciting than I thought it would be. I had expected more levity, and it felt more dry to me, with some on the nose socio-political commentary about fracking, Trump, addiction to technology, etc. I’ve seen several Jarmusch movies, so I wasn’t going in cold, I know he generally has a dry, quiet sense of humor. I just felt this movie could’ve used a little more life in it, pardon the joke.
I did like some fun and quirky aspects. Iggy Pop as a zombie (the movie has him specifically stop in front of the camera during his intro just so we get a good look at him), Tom Waits as a hermit in the woods who just views the zombie action from a distance; Caleb Landry Jones looking like a cross between stoner Macaulay Culkin and Herman Hermann, the one-armed army surplus guy from The Simpsons; Rosie Perez’ newscaster character name being “Posie Juarez”; the near-mistake I felt like I caught of Selena Gomez opening her eyes when she’s supposed to be dead; the running joke of mentioning the film’s theme song as a commentary on product placement, like “buy the soundtrack after the movie!”; and the brief Scrooged reunion of Bill Murray and Carol Kane, which had me making jokes in my head about her being the Ghost of Christmas Present back to haunt him.
So it’s just ok, not as exciting as the trailer showed, but just fine for a lowkey indie take on zombie movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment