In Retrospect: The Dead Don't Die

I still love it.

You know, I think this movie is getting a bad reputation. Cause the brain dead zombie lovers will swallow anything with the Z word in it, but they want the same old shit and this movie is so not your regular zombie movie. Oh it sure has some beats and references to other zombie movies but the tone and story are so different from really any movie. I'll fully admit this is my first and so far only Jim Jarmusch movie I've seen, and yet I knew I was going to get something different yet unique when I walked into this movie and I really would love to get my hands on more of his work one day. See I'm not a zombie fan, I have respect for Night Of The Living Dead and enjoyed it, Shaun Of The Dead was a great comedy, and Zombieland was sorta blah for me but I know it has it's fans, so I walked into this movie with zero expectations and just wanted to see what it was about. What I got was a very funny, very entertaining, and just a neat movie that did it's own thing. I mean I will not lie to you, I saw the movie because of Bill Murray and Adam Driver, they are two of my favorite actors and I loved them just as much in this movie. The meta aspects of it were subdued but executed well and always made me laugh, unlike some other movies (cough Deadpool cough) and besides I can't exactly hate Star Wars references. It's just a fun little movie to watch and if I had to really pick my favorite zombie movie I'm hardpressed to find one I like more than this, though of course I know of no doubt superior films like Day Of The Dead and so forth. I actually did notice more on my second viewing that the film kinda has this low budget B-movie feel to it, very small set location, basic camera set up, off key acting though it doesn't detract from the movie, and the fact they give this science-y reason for the dead rising. I don't know, it just seemed in the spirit of many movies you would see on Mystery Science Theater, but that's not to say the movie is poorly made or bad. It has a good look to it, the zombie makeup isn't too much and it works, I really like the characters, the music is damn good and speaking of which I know some asshat is gonna be like well this movie was just a feature length sponsor for the song by Sturgill Simpson but let me tell you a little secret....if that's the case the finished product could have been way way worse. I mean how many friggin' movies have tried to sell you something throughout the whole movie, and how many were good? I actually don't mind The Wizard that much but yes, it's to sell you Nintendo stuff. Now let me be clear, a lot of movies have product placement but I'm more focused on where a movie is trying to shove something down your throat all the damn time and wants you to buy it and that's the purpose of the film. Hell that's the write off excuse for any movie made from an 80s cartoon and it is correct sometime. But not in this movie, the song is played for comedic effect cause it's all that's on the radio, and it's funny! And yes, I do like the song. That's a good song. It's a shame this movie made only about $13 million, because it's the director's most widely released film and people just wanted more standard zombie fare, so if you see the movie just take everything you know about zombie movies and throw it out the window. Just roll with it, you'll have fun I promise. I know it's pretty much hit cult film status, but give it a shot even if you aren't that big a horror fan. I greatly enjoyed it, and still would give it a solid 3 stars, 7/10, a sure fire rent or buy!