The only two Jarmusch films I have previously watched and which will form the basis of my reference for this movie are: Dead Man and Only Lovers Left Alive. Now both these aforementioned films are not the typical popcorn movie. They are somewhere between being general entertainers and art films, leaning slightly to the latter. However, they both felt like SOLID movies, with the audience feeling a sense of conclusion to the narrative being told in them.
However, The Dead Don't Die really doesn't compare much to either of these previous Jarmusch ventures. Which is so sad, because it has the trappings of achieving cult status: great actors, a quirky if not so original premise and a great rural setting ripe for a 50s B horror movie pastiche . I did like the exchanges between the lead actors , Bill Murray and Adam Driver. Their onscreen relationship was probably the centerpiece of the movie.
The side characters sadly didn't have much dimension or rather much to do really, but the actors portraying them were professionals and tried to inject as much quirkiness to them as possible to make them somewhat memorable. You are led to believe that one side character might be the key to resolving the narrative conflict presented but, as acclaimed film critic Jay Bauman likes to mention often, the film "subverts your expectations" in a bad way.
There are some genuine laughs here and there. There is quite a lot of meta humor as well; some land well , others quite don't.
Overall, I really wouldn't go so far as to NOT recommend this movie. If you just want to chill, seat back and just enjoy a somewhat offbeat comedy without investing too much in the narrative flow, you might find the movie OK and amusing. Else, hoping for a zombie comedy along the lines of Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland might get you frustrated at having watched this.
However, The Dead Don't Die really doesn't compare much to either of these previous Jarmusch ventures. Which is so sad, because it has the trappings of achieving cult status: great actors, a quirky if not so original premise and a great rural setting ripe for a 50s B horror movie pastiche . I did like the exchanges between the lead actors , Bill Murray and Adam Driver. Their onscreen relationship was probably the centerpiece of the movie.
The side characters sadly didn't have much dimension or rather much to do really, but the actors portraying them were professionals and tried to inject as much quirkiness to them as possible to make them somewhat memorable. You are led to believe that one side character might be the key to resolving the narrative conflict presented but, as acclaimed film critic Jay Bauman likes to mention often, the film "subverts your expectations" in a bad way.
There are some genuine laughs here and there. There is quite a lot of meta humor as well; some land well , others quite don't.
Overall, I really wouldn't go so far as to NOT recommend this movie. If you just want to chill, seat back and just enjoy a somewhat offbeat comedy without investing too much in the narrative flow, you might find the movie OK and amusing. Else, hoping for a zombie comedy along the lines of Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland might get you frustrated at having watched this.
