The Dead Don't Die
2019 · Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Original language: English
- comedy
- drama
- horror
The story
In the sleepy town of Centerville, the lives of a number of interconnected characters are disrupted by the undead.
What it’s like
Flat, deadpan daylight over a small rural town, shot in static, carefully composed frames where the characters often stare straight into the lens, and the dry, slightly stagey theatre of Jim Jarmusch's style is everywhere. Its palette is washed and pale, with overcast greys, muted greens of wooded hills and diner-booth browns, and the cemetery and roadside motels look like they have been left out in the weather. The sound is as deliberate as the image: a sparse, twangy country theme repeats at odd moments, and long stretches are filled with clipped dialogue, pauses and the hum of ambient quiet. Its vibe is wry, languid and faintly uncanny, a comedy that keeps its horror at arm's length, suited to a lazy afternoon, a slow evening with nothing to do, or anyone who likes a movie that seems to know it is a movie. Pacing is unhurried, with the humour built on repetition and understatement, and the tone stays detached rather than panicked. The zombies arrive as a nuisance more than a threat, and the leads are knowingly weary, a small-town police trio who treat the apocalypse like a dull shift. Violence is present and often gory, with bloody attacks and dismemberment played for laughs and quick, but never sustained dread. For viewers who enjoy absurdist, self-aware deadpan and an ironic take on genre horror, not for those who want gentle or sincerely frightening.
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