If you'd like to be surprised by the The Dead Don't Die film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 1:35, because it gives away some parts of the plot.
The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
Watch the trailer in French - Watch the trailer in German - Watch the trailer in Italian - Watch the trailer in Spanish
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The The Dead Don't Die (2019) is a horror comedy film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
Original title: The Dead Don't Die
Series: -
Setting: contemporary / future fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: horror comedy, Features: sci-fi, horror, comedy, zombie (creature), Style: meta-references
Release: Premiere: 2019.05.14 (Cannes Film Festival) , Release: 2019.06.13
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.02), first time
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of The Dead Don't Die, a horror comedy movie from 2019. It's about the police investigating strange occurences in a small village. The The Dead Don't Die film has some fun parts, but I can't really recommend it.
The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
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Review (spoiler-free) - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
I've probably heard there's going to be a new zombie comedy released. I've probably watched the trailer, and I wasn't impressed, although I don't remember much of that. After a while, when I had the chance to watch it, I decided to give it a try, as I like zombies and comedies.
The The Dead Don't Die movie is about the police investigating strange occurences in a small village
The basis of the plot is good, but I wasn't satisfied with the actual story. It starts so slowly, it takes about 30 minutes before anything happens. There's a tendency in the film that things happen multiple times - they repeat what the other have said, or show the same things. The pacing is consistently slow. There are no character arcs. There are also no major logical problems.
The cinematography is good. It has some interesting visuals, but the action scenes are not very interesting.
The characters are slightly shallow, and that would be okay if there were some action to distract us. If we'd know the characters better, we would feel some emotion when they die, but this way, I didn't really care whether or not any of them dies. The actors are probably okay, but the characters are so dry and boring that depicting those characters wouldn't have been that much of a work even for other actors.
The music (by Jim Jarmusch) is okay.
If you'd like to watch a better movie with a similar message and comedic moments, I recommend Dawn of the Dead (1978). If you'd like to watch a zombie comedy, I recommend Shaun of the Dead, or Zombieland, or even Juan of the Dead.
The Dead Don't Die is a somewhat funny horror comedy, but I think only dedicated fans of the genre would enjoy it.
My experience
I was disappointed by The Dead Don't Die (2019). There are moments that are great, that's why I didn't leave the movie, but those still didn't save the movie for me.
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). The Dead Don't Die is a watchable film.
Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points). The Dead Don't Die felt boring for me, I couldn't really enjoy it.
Rewatchability: I'm not sure. As I think it's mostly the style of the movie that makes you feel interested, if you liked it for the first time, you'll enjoy watching it again.
Chance of watching it again: No.
Chance of watching a sequel: Probably. There's a chance I'd watch it.
The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
Will you enjoy this?
If you like zombie movies, you might like The Dead Don't Die.
If you like horror or action thriller movies (28 Days Later), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the The Dead Don't Die movie.
If you like criminal investigation, you might like The Dead Don't Die, although the focus is not really on the research and investigation.
If you can get through the first half hour of the movie still interested, from then on it gets into gear, and you might even love this.
If you prefer visuals over story, there are some nice scenes, but I'm not sure the movie is worth to sit through for those moments.
If you hate comedy movies, you might still give The Dead Don't Die a try, as the humour is very dry, you might not even notice it.
If you hate zombie films, you should avoid this.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in zombie stories, I think it's worth watching the The Dead Don't Die movie for the plot points. Although you might just read the synopsis.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it in a cinema.
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The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
Review with spoilers - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
I didn't really like the The Dead Don't Die movie.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer shows some potential surprises from the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the The Dead Don't Die film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it could ruin the movie for you.
Promise of the first scene
We are going to see some police action happening in a strange situation. Probably involving aliens.
Execution: We did get to see police action, and we did see some aliens. I couldn't have predicted the end, but I feel that I got what I was promised.
Plot summary / Synopsis
There are two policemen, a younger one (Adam Driver as Officer Ronnie Peterson) and an older one (Bill Murray as Chief Cliff Robertson), cruising in a small village. There are some strange occurences, problems with electronic devices, and the sun seems to be up longer, even though it's supposed to be night time.
We see a hobo (Tom Waits as Hermit Bob) walking in the woods. We see the local mortician (Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston) practicing with a samurai sword. We see the diner, as locals eat. We see youngsters at a detention facility.
When the sun finally goes down, two zombies crawl out of the cemetery, and kill the two women working at the diner.
The policemen go to investigate the murders. The younger policeman has a feeling that zombies were involved, so they check the cemetery, where they find freshly dug graves.
In the evening, more zombies crawl out of their graves. They get into town, killing people. Two men barricades themselves in a hardware store, but they get overwhelmed. Some kids in the detention facility close themselves in a closet, then get away from the building. The mortician closes herself in the police HQ, and starts to use the computer.
The policemen get stuck in the cemetery, with zombies surrounding them. A flying saucer comes by, and takes the mortician, who was probably an extra-terrestrial. The policemen try to kill the zombies, but they are overwhelmed and killed. The hobo is watching this from a distance.
The setting
Set in contemporary Earth, where polar fracking caused a change in the Earth's axis, and the shift changes the daytime hours. Radios and tv have problems with broadcasting. Cellphones get their power depleted (but they start working, if a zombie holds them in their hands). Watches stop working. Animals act strangely, and try to hide themselves. The moon can be seen slowly spinning, unlike our moon with a fixed facing.
Also, the dead come alive as zombies.
The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
The zombies
The zombies are able to push their way up from their graves. That means they are either very strong, or they have some burrowing abilities. Otherwise, they seem to have normal human abilities, they are just slowly shuffling.
They seem to retain some of their memories, and they can speak. They drink coffee, smile. Zombie kids are looking for toys and candy. Adults are seen looking for wifi signal, or their medications. Men are trying to get into the hardware store.
They are not recently dead, yet their bodies are not decomposed. They even have their eyes. This means that they either did not rot away in their graves, or the reanimating effect also regenerated their bodies.
When they attack humans, they try to eat their flesh and intestines.
When their bodies get damaged, black dust and smoke comes out of it. Destroying the brain kills them. Cutting off the head makes their body unable to move.
The message of the story
The stated message is: Consumerism is bad. Don't get attached to material items. Try to protect the Earth.
However, this message is not shown to us through the story, it's just told to the viewers by characters, multiple times, hammering the message.
The actual message of the movie is probably "don't bother, everybody dies, good or bad", because we see the rude guys die horribly, but the good guys just as well. Or "be a lunatic loner, that will save you one day", as only the psycho hobo survives, at least until the end.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the The Dead Don't Die film are played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some scenes that look like a parallel storyline, but end the end it becomes clear that they are actually flashbacks.
There is no a single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
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Things I liked
- I liked the scenes with the samurai sword wielding mortician.
- It was an interesting twist that the mortician was an extra-terrestrial, taken by a flying saucer in the end. There was even a very slight foreshadowing, when she was magically using the police computer.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
From the writer/director (Jim Jarmusch), I've only seen Ghost Dog, and I didn't like that film. I don't like this one either. He is famous, so I trust the opinion of others, but he's probably famous for other movies, not these.
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The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
Analysis of the story - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
I mostly liked the story, I didn't find problems that would have prevented me from enjoying The Dead Don't Die.
Problematic elements
- The meta-elements: I feel that those were unnecessary. One would have been funny. Leading the meta-elements through the whole story would have been interesting. But adding a couple of them, that didn't relate to the plot in any way was just distracting.
- Zombie fixation: I don't particularly like it that a lot of characters first thoughts are that it's zombies that are causing the problems. It's probably there to speed up the plot, though.
- Sturgill Simpson: After a while the Sturgill Simpson references get a little tiring. A less heavy handed approach might be funny. Don't get me wrong, I happen to like Sturgill Simpson, I've even written a review of his Sound & Fury (2019), but it was still too much for me.
Unanswered questions
- Why did the mortician wait until this time to call the flying saucer, if all she needed was a computer?
- What happens with the kids who got out of the detention center?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Cutting the scenes with the three kids in the detention center.
- Cutting the scenes with the three kids who arrive in a car.
- Cutting the meta-elements.
- "It's our theme song."
- Fairy dust over the girl's head.
- "Are we ad-libbing now?"
- "I've read the script."
How it could have been better?
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
image © Image Eleven Productions
Uses for the film - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
Plot
- The dead come alive as zombies.
- There's an alien trapped on the planet, who requires evacuation.
Scenes
- When the flying soucer gets to the cemetery while it's crawling with zombies, it's a scene that's great to depect this exact situation.
- The ending scene when the policemen are killing the zombies is a good scene depicting policemen killing zombies.
- The scenes with the zombie kids are interesting, as kids are usually not shown in zombie movies.
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
- Detention: Kids are in a detention center, when a zombie apocalypse hits. The guards are trying to keep the kids in, while trying to keep the zombies out. They can barricade the doors, but for that, they need to haul barricade materials to the doors. Zombies win if they kill the guards. Guards win if they kill the zombies or barricade all the doors. The kids win if at least half of them get out of the building. The kids are physically weak, they can't fight the zombies, unless they pick up weapons. One guard can grab two kids at once, and haul them at walking pace.
- Evacuation: After setting up the playing area, put creatures (zombies, aliens, killer robots) randomly anywhere. Then set up the defenders, at least one movement away from the creatures. Then the attackers enter the playing area from any of the edges. The creatures move towards and attack the closest model. The attacker team has to reach the exact middle of the playing area, where they will be picked up (by a dragon, giant dragonflies, helicopter, spaceship). They have to clear it from defenders and creatures for the extraction to work. The team has a limited time to be extracted. The defender team tries to prevent the attacker from leaving. The attackers win if at least half of the team gets extracted. The defender wins if at least half of the attackers get killed, and at least half of the defenders is still alive. It's a draw if some attackers get evacuated, but less then half.
- Solo play: There are no defenders, just the attackers who want to reach the middle.
- Evacuation v2: There's a battle going on, when a creature enters the playing area. At the beginning of every turn it moves toward the center of the playing area. If any model tries to attack it, or stand in its way, the creature will attack it. It has very good combat statistics. When the creature reaches the center, it is removed from the game (teleported, burrows underground, flies away).
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized (S3) modern (advanced) human female / male civilian.
Zombies: Human-sized modern human zombies.
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Similar stories - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
Graphic novels
Movies
Shaun of the Dead (2004): Zombie comedy.
Juan of the Dead (2011): Zombie comedy.
Zombieland (2009): Zombie comedy.
TV series & episodes
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Frequently asked questions - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
Is the The Dead Don't Die film based on a book or comics?
No, The Dead Don't Die is not based on either books or comics.
Is the The Dead Don't Die film a remake or reboot?
No, the The Dead Don't Die film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in The Dead Don't Die? Does The Dead Don't Die have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in The Dead Don't Die.
Where can I see The Dead Don't Die? Where can I watch The Dead Don't Die online? Is The Dead Don't Die available on Netflix? Is The Dead Don't Die on Amazon?
As of 2021.12.05, The Dead Don't Die is on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft Store, Netflix, Vudu, YouTube.
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Resources - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
Information
IMDB: The Dead Don't Die (2019): Database article.
WikiPedia: The Dead Don't Die (2019 film): Database article.
Letterboxd: The Dead Don't Die 2019: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: The Dead Don't Die 2019: Database article.
TVTropes: Film / The Dead Don't Die: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - The Dead Don't Die film (2019)
: Review video about the The Dead Don't Die film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - The Dead Don't Die film (2019)
Film Reviewer Jr.: The Dead Don't Die or: Jim Jarmusch Tackles the Zombie Genre (Film Analysis): Review article of the The Dead Don't Die movie, with spoilers.¤
Analysis - The Dead Don't Die movie (2019)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of The Dead Don't Die.¤
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEW_qMxLBLc&t=278s
Jay & Mike (for RedLetterMedia): Half in the Bag: 2019 Movie Catch-Up! (part 2 of 2): Review video with spoilers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEg9WE_2vF0
Chris Stuckmann: The Dead Don't Die - Movie Review: Review video with minor spoilers, but no more than the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY1q3pLI23Q
Beyond The Trailer: The Dead Don't Die Review: Review video with minor spoilers, but no more than the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCgniU5tZSc
Mark Kermode (for kermodeandmayo): The Dead Don't Die reviewed by Mark Kermode: Review video with minor spoilers, but no more than the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdtnYNrI0LU
Wow Such Gaming: Everything Wrong with The Dead Dont Die (Zombie Sins): Review video with spoilers.
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/07/14/the-dead-dont-die/
http://psychodrivein.com/the-dead-dont-die-2019-blu-ray-review/
https://twitter.com/PsychoDriveIn/status/1174035633213464578
https://www.facebook.com/psychodrivein/posts/1296359517192503
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2hgl4PnpkD/
https://www.karanliksinema.com/2019/09/the-dead-dont-die-2019-film-elestirisi.html
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=tr&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.karanliksinema.com%2F2019%2F09%2Fthe-dead-dont-die-2019-film-elestirisi.html
https://www.karanliksinema.com
Muge İbrikçi Baran (for Dark Movies): The Invisible Man (2020) – Film Review (in Turkish): Review article of the The Invisible Man movie, with spoilers, in Turkish.
English version by Google Translate
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2mgOczFWvF/
https://www.facebook.com/karanliksinema/posts/2383587035198184
https://twitter.com/mugeibrikci/status/1175851084344176641
https://twitter.com/KaranlikSinema/status/1174617284528283648
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Buying the product - The Dead Don't Die, movie (2019)
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Have you seen the The Dead Don't Die film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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