By Benjamin Davis
The Dead Don’t Die is a dark comedy/zombie film that stars Bill Murray as Chief Cliff Ronald and Adam Driver as Officer Ronald Peterson as local cops for the small town of Centerville where due to polar fracking and weird environmental changes, a zombie outbreak occurs. It’s due to this outbreak that they decide to take matters into their own hands and go out on the hunt for the living dead.
This film was not at all what I thought it would be. I went in thinking that it would be something more along the lines of a Zombieland, but what I got was a very weird, hilarious, random, and self referential comedy that doesn’t work quite as well as it thinks it does, but is still a very funny/meta film.
I’m a huge Adam Driver fan. I think the guy can really do no wrong and is this generation’s best actor. I’m also a big Bill Murray fan. The amount of laughs that guy has made me do over the years are countless. It should be no surprise that both of these actors not only deliver in this film, but also have excellent chemistry with each other. Their deadpan delivery on all of the jokes brings this movie from just passable to really enjoyable. There’s also a crazy amount of self-referential humor in
this film that really works. It’s excellently timed, gleeful, and by far the funniest bits of the entire film.
There are a ton of messages in this film—some work, some feel very heavy-handed—but there’s one message in this film that I think we can all take away. In this modern age of technology, it’s not very rare to see a couple or a family having dinner with each other only to notice they aren’t looking and talking to each other, but are actually just looking at their phone screens not enjoying the company of each other. Not being fully present, but being distant and distracted by what’s going on in whatever social media account they’re using. Being zombie-like if you will. I believe that at the core of this film, it’s about being mindful and present about what’s going on around you and giving those around you 110% and not giving into those vices as often. Enjoying the moment and not living vicariously through whatever your vice may be. It’s what takes this movie from just being an enjoyable comedy, to something a little more meaningful.
As I said though, some of the messages in the film aren’t handled with subtlety but with a frying pan to the face.
The film also has a tendency to set up a lot of background characters and sub-plots that don’t matter or add up too much of anything other than taking away from our lead characters. This leads to a pacing issue for me as I was just sitting in the theater wishing to see Bill Murray and Adam Driver on screen again, knowing full well I’d start laughing again.
In conclusion, while there are some big swings that miss in The Dead Don’t Die, it’s saved by the fantastic comedic performances of Bill Murray and Adam Driver that will make you belly laugh every time they’re on screen. It also has a very important social message that despite being bogged down at times really resonated with me.
Grade: B-