[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”24125″ img_size=”800×460″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Synopsis:
In the sleepy small town of Centerville, something is not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable, and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behaviors. News reports are scary, and scientists are concerned, but no one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing Centerville: the dead rise from their graves and feast on the living, and the citizens must battle to survive.
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What do you get when you take the fourth wall breaks of Deadpool, the deadpan humor of Arrested Development, and classic zombie movie tropes? Add that to an exceptional cast, a little Sturgill Simpson, and you get, Jim Jarmusch’s ‘The Dead Don’t Die‘. In theaters on June 14th.
I went into this screening as a huge zombie movie fan. Admittedly, I was a tad bit on guard as I tend to judge most zombie films off of the originals. However, I always keep an open mind, but then sometimes we end up with Warm Bodies, no thanks. Again, I kept an open mind and good thing I did. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this zombie comedy or zomedy. While somewhat awkward and not very gory, it’s filled with not only amazing acting and witty banter but it paid homage to the classics. It added a new twist as to why the dead were rising from their graves while simultaneously poking fun at undead tropes. Additionally, my favorite thing about the movie is Tilda Swinton’s character and how it seems that they played off of what people tend to think about her. I found the movie awkwardly amusing, in the best way.
Plot
With this being a comedy, we don’t get a dramatic setup as to why the undead is walking among the living. However, we do get a catalyst and it’s rather creative and topical. A small mirror of our society. It takes place in the small town of Centerville where there’s one place to eat and everyone knows each other. After the undead takes over the town, the characters seem to adapt to the situation rather quickly. All while hearing, “This isn’t going to end well” by Adam Driver’s character. The pace of the movie is rather slow and at times seems too slow but if you love zombie films or television shows, it won’t bother you. It eventually gets to the head chopping.
Acting/Characters
All the characters for this kind of movie are covered. There is the core group, Bill Murray as the old police chief that should probably be retired, Adam Driver is the young cop that seems to always know what’s going on and Chloe Sevigny as the frantic cop. The trio plays perfectly off one another leaving you only wanting a duo. Other notable performances are Tom Waits as Hermit Bob, Tilda Swinton as Zelda, Danny Glover as Hank, Caleb Landry as Bobby Wiggins, and Steve Buscemi as Farmer Frank. Selena Gomez is also in the film.
Rating – 3.5 out 5
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Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.
