AT THE MOVIES: THE BINGE

by Isy Jordan

The Dead Don't Die
Creatores: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, and more.


The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.

I love horror movies. I love the zombie genre. But The Dead Don't Die doesn't exactly fit into either category. It's part horror film, part zombie film, and part dark comedy.

On just your average day in the small town of Centerville, Chief Cliff Robertson (Murry) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Driver) are dealing with a complaint from the town jackass, a farmer (Buscemi) claiming his chickens were taken. The town hobo (Waits) denies involvement and watches everything from the woods. When the dead start to come back to life, he's among the first to see it.

As with any zombie film, once the dead start coming back, the fun starts and this film is no exception. But the way the characters handle the unexplained zombie outbreak in a low-key, small-town way is not like anything I've ever seen. It is funny and terrifying at turns. Tilda Swinton as the Scottish undertaker with her katana and mad samaurai skills is a bonus.

With dead not dying, and unique characters dealing with it as best they can, you have an entertaining film with good acting, decent effects, and hey, you can't predict how it's going to go. Great cast, perfect length. It's a gem of a film to watch while we're waiting out this pandemic. I recommend it.

Isy