Cineroom
  • Reviews.
  • Features.
  • Let's chat.
  • Reviews.
  • Features.
  • Let's chat.

2/7/2019

0 Comments

KVIFF'54: The Dead Don't Die review.

 
Picture
​By Adam Ray Palmer
 
After missing this film at Cannes, I couldn’t wait to sit down and revel in all the talent on the big screen.
 
A few of the names on the bill include Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny and Caleb Landry Jones. What a huge wage bill, surely a classic ensues…
Not quite… Jim Jamusch returns with a zombie film and an all-star cast, just minus the bite. Following his critically acclaimed offering in 2016 with Paterson, also starring Adam Driver, The Dead Don’t Die opened the Cannes Film Festival this year and also had a big 600-seater showing today at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Praise was muted at Cannes, and it wasn’t much louder here either.
 
This film is certainly style over substance here. I always get nervous when you see a huge cast full of A-listers because I immediately judge it for papering over some kind of production cracks. There are many blemishes in this film that just don’t quite make it tick. For a film that is a little over one hour and forty minutes, it feels like an age in your seat.
Picture
Picture
Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly laughs throughout, but they are few and far between. I feel this film is stuck in a few genres and it doesn’t quite nail any of them. Some jokes are repetitive, and the zombie scenes don’t occur until the second half of the film. It starts really amusing when the central protagonists Chief Cliff (Murray) and Officer Peterson (Driver) poke fun at the script by saying “This Dead Don’t Die song sounds familiar” remarks Bill, quickly followed by Adam commenting “It’s because it’s the theme song”. It’s very much a film within a film but too similar jokes just keep on coming.
 
I think the idea here is interesting, but for me, the execution doesn’t quite do it justice. I did find solace in Adam Driver and Bill Murray though; their chemistry was certainly a highlight and I would love another buddy type film with those pair at the helm.
 
On the whole, it’s a frustrating watch. You can see the good in it but for me I couldn’t quite grasp it all. Perhaps this film is divisive though as a few cinema-goers belly laughed throughout. For me, I had high expectations and it didn’t even push a hand through the surface. I guess my preferred version of this film is still six feet under.
 
Cineroom’s rating: 2 Stars
 
The Dead Don’t Die is released in UK cinemas on 12th July 2019 – certificate 15
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    Picture

    Previous
    ​scribbles

    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015


    Photos from
    our travels...
All Rights Reserved  ©Copyright 2021  Cineroom