There have been countless examples of movies or TV shows getting new life years after release and finding a spot on the Netflix trending list. It most recently happened with Jim Jarmusch’s 2019 quirky horror movie, The Dead Don’t Die, which is currently being eaten up by those with a Netflix subscription (it was the third most popular movie at the time of the writing). And I can’t get over it.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve never felt more justified in loving something as much as I do now. I mean, it’s been five years since one of the most productive zombie apocalypse videos ever made came out and divided the public (a lot of my colleagues and friends didn’t like it). I’m not saying this just because The Dead Don’t Die is one of the most productive videos on Netflix right now, I’m going to start getting excited, but hear me out. . .
When The Dead Don’t Die came out, I was very excited to tell people how much I enjoyed the unconventional zombie movie about the city fighting an army of demons, and then was immediately disappointed when one of my friends still liked it. It wasn’t just in my circle either, as the film has a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and a 38% on the Popcornmeter (the fan score).
As I delved deeper into the topic, I went back to see what my colleagues at CinemaBlend thought about it at the time. While we gave the film a score of 3/5 in our official The Dead Don’t Die review, this is the highest score among the staff. The average score is only 2. 4/5, worse than Men in Black International, some other film released the same weekend.
Do I have bad taste or has almost no one been able to see it in a silly horror comedy starring Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Selena Gomez?
I watched the movie once or twice after seeing it the first time, but I had largely left it to the back of my mind. For example, it has become one of those films that I only think about when I talk about Adam Driver’s most successful films or when Sturgill Simpson’s “The Dead Don’t Die” on Spotify.
So, you can probably believe how surprised and extremely joyful I was when I saw the star-studded zombie movie topping Netflix’s trending list. Like, what’s going on here? How did this random movie that only a small organization of other people (including me) enjoyed five years ago become more popular than Barbie and Megan Fox’s sexy robot movie? But hey, I’m not looking to make sense of this , I’m just glad that more people are in a position to see Bill Murray calmly deal with a zombie outbreak after all those years.
When it comes to zombie videos (or horror videos in general) with large casts, this one is in a league of its own. Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloë Sevigny play the police officers, Tilda Swinton plays a katana-wielding mortician. Director Danny Glover plays a hardware store owner, pre-Elvis Selena Gomez and Austin Butler play young travelers, Iggy Pop, RZA, and Tom Waits play random characters, and Carol Kane plays a drunk. zombie for a bottle of chardonnay.
And that’s just part of the cast. I’m convinced that other people will get to see those actors take on (or become) zombies after all. Sure, some of the lines sound like the actors are reading their lines for the first time, but it actually adds charm to what I’ve long considered one of the most productive horror films of all time. Everyone in this movie, even the actors most associated with dramatic roles, seems to be having the time of their lives.
The Dead Don’t Die is an incredibly meta movie. It’s one of the most important meta-horror videos I’ve ever seen, and that aspect adds a lot to the film. I am pleased that now more and more people are experiencing it for themselves. Does that mean everyone likes it? No no. But other people look at him like crazy.
There are scenes throughout where the characters reference they’re in a movie by talking about the title song, but there’s also a moment near the end where Driver’s Officer Ronnie Peterson tells Murray’s Cliff Roberton he knew things would end up badly because he read it in the script “Jim” gave him. He’s facing death, and Driver is sitting there with this awkward, deadpan delivery talking about the script. Brilliant!
I don’t know how many people know this, but Sturgill Simpson can write a very intelligent song. They’ve released some of my favorite albums over the last fifteen years, and honestly, their title track is one of the best additions to their discography. The song is used several times throughout the film, adding to a rather captivating scene in which Selena Gomez drives down a lonely country road.
Sounds like an old gospel song like “What are you doing today in heaven?”, this wonderfully composed and directed country song is perfect, even without the context of the film. Simpson’s “Breakers Roar” from his 2016 LP, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, was masterfully used in a surely surprising scene from this previous year’s Civil War, and “The Dead Don’t Die” is used in a more comedic way to fit the zombie movie tone, it has a similar charming effect that helps the scene slide.
And if you haven’t already, this song is a wonderful addition to the painting of one of the greatest and most creative country singers working today.
There are a lot of upcoming zombie movies on the way, but I doubt we’ll see anything like The Dead Don’t Die anytime soon, or ever again. But it’s not all bad news, as we’re blessed with this silly mess of a good time.
Stream The Dead Don’t Die on Netflix.
Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. When not writing about movies or television, Philip is haunted by his 3 children, telling his dogs to avoid barking at the mailman or talking about professional wrestling with his wife. . . Writing assignments for school newspapers, various newspapers, and other professional reports have brought him to this point where he has the opportunity to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a big win in his eyes). If the stars align correctly, you’ll say For the Love of the Game is the most productive baseball movie of all time.
Ahead of the premiere of Star Trek: Section 31, the director explains how Michelle Yeoh’s spin-off has a television series
Seriously, what’s the problem? The closure of Onyx Storm makes me wonder what’s going on with the Fourth Wing series lately.
I attended 3. 5 hours of The Brutalist for the second time, and two scenes were even more difficult this time.
Cinemablend is from Future US Inc. , a leading overseas virtual publisher and media organization. Visit our corporate website.