Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Dead Don't Die Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 10, 2019

The dead don't die -- Sturgill Simpson croons about it throughout the film -- but apparently neither does the love for George A. Romero's seminal genre masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, a movie that has inspired generations of films and television shows and books and video games centered around the zombie apocalypse. Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch's (Paterson, one of this reviewer's favorite films) The Dead Don't Die hearkens back to its Romero roots, taking place in a small Western Pennsylvania town on the front lines of the dead's reanimation from the grave. It's a hearty, funny film, particularly in its first half, but struggles to hold momentum when it necessarily shifts directions into more of a light Action film pitting the living versus the dead. Still, a worthwhile entry into the endlessly ballooning genre.

The setting for the film is Centerville, the sleepy Western Pennsylvania hamlet with population of 738. "A real nice place," it is. But something weird is afoot. Local police officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) feels it. And he's amongst the first. News reports talk of polar fracking's impact on the Earth's rotation, and it isn't long until the effects are felt. The day and night cycles become confused. The police radio goes on the fritz. Cell phones stop working. Ants behave oddly and strange growths arise in the local woods. It's going to result in "total planetary destruction," the teenage brains housed at the local juvenile detention center proclaim. As local residents, including a geeky shopkeep named Bobby Wiggins (Caleb Landry Jones), begin to piece together the reality that the world will never be the same, Ronnie, his partner Cliff (Bill Murray), and fellow officer Mindy (Chloë Sevigny) find themselves on the front lines of a zombie apocalypse. "Head and dead" they learn quickly enough, but can a state of confusion and a burgeoning state of madness and a swelling state of zombies prove too much for Centerville's finest, in uniform and out of it, to overcome?

Jarmusch is at his best in the film's first half, both as writer and director. The mystery, which isn't so much a mystery to the audience or to the characters in the know -- some of whom have read the script, see -- unravels slowly and surely, with hints of information and signs of the pending apocalypse everywhere to be seen. Even the film's theme song, which plays at at several opportune junctures, warns of its pending arrival. The film's self aware take on the genre is fresh and invigorating for the audience and the cast, allowing the former to revel in the genre joys and the cast to play it up while still taking the material somewhat seriously. The tongue-in-cheek approach brings a welcome levity to an otherwise dire genre without slipping into self-serving parody. While the film is very much a spiritual relative to Romero's groundbreaking Night, Jarmusch updates it just enough to pull it into 2019 and allow his amazing ensemble to chew the script and scenery for all it's worth, which does fluctuate as the film marches forward.

Unfortunately, the movie labors and slowly dies in its second half as it shifts towards a more action-oriented take where heads are severed and blown away with regularity (and the effects are a bit dodgy under the budgetary constraints). Jarmusch efforts to keep things interesting by honing in on the social commentary from Dawn of the Dead, metaphorically painting zombies as singleminded slaves to the idols in their lives -- cell phones, wine, prescription medication, cars, musical instruments, tools -- but the charm slowly vanishes in favor of the more crudely executed scenes of various characters being killed off and the characters methodically going about the business of zombie slaughter and survival. The cast has fun with the second half and elevates the material considerably by sheer force of talent alone, but the movie cannot escape the clutches of general malaise and monotony, a rather large letdown following a near epic first half.

The Dead Don't Die Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Dead Don't Die was digitally photographed. The material translates well to 1080p Blu-ray with a good looking and stable if unspectacular image, at least "unspectacular" within the larger Blu-ray landscape. There's plenty here to like, though, such as regularly sharp and accessible details and good looking colors. The image is fairly crisp and refined, boasting clean, intimate facial textures, sharp environments around town, and well defined clothing (from crisp police uniforms to worn and weathered and torn and bloodied zombie outfits). Zombie gore and prosthetics are revealed to satisfaction as well, though some of the "dusty" digital aftermaths of a zombie kill are a bit on the ehhh side of the visual ledger. Colors are stable, whether well-lit interiors or sunny exteriors. Some the day-for-night scenes that push more blue than black look fine within context. Skin tones and black levels raise no alarms. Some noise is present but no other visual interferences, either at the source or from the encode process, are apparent.

The Dead Don't Die Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dead Don't Die's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles core duties admirably. Music enjoys good wide berth along the front and folds in enough rear channel activity to satisfy. Environments are well defined, particularly the wooded location seen early in the film and in a few other scenes throughout; the area springs to life with impressive room-filling atmospherics that effortlessly paint the location's sonic picture. Indeed, few scenes are without some form of natural ambience, at times more aggressive than others but the track always sounds in balance. Action scenes are OK; gunshots aren't thunderous and various zombie groans and bladed weapon slices don't really offer much impact, but they are fine within context. Dialogue drives most of the film. It's clear, well prioritized, and focused in the front-center channel.

The Dead Don't Die Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Dead Don't Die contains several micro featurettes. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Bill Murray: Zombie Hunting Action Star (1080p, 1:21): A brief and humorous interview with the film's star, intercut with film clips.
• Stick Together (1080p, 2:47): Cast and crew talk up Jim Jarmusch's work as writer/director.
• Behind the Scenes of The Dead Don't Die (1080i): A six-part feature containing behind-the-scenes mini-snippets.
  
  
  • Zombie Tai Chi (0:55): Zombie extras limber up.
  • Growl Practice (0:18): Zombie extras practice moaning.
  • A Spin Around the Set (0:32): A 360-degree look at one of the sets.
  • Craft Services (1:00): Zombies lumber towards lunch.
  • Undead Symphony (2:16): A gaggle of zombies make gargling sounds.
  • Finger Food (0:22): One zombie extra eats a gory prosthetic.

The Dead Don't Die Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Dead Don't Die is a story of two halves, a wonderfully aware and fully engaging opening salvo followed by a more monotonous second half that struggles to carry even a modicum of the momentum the first half quickly and satisfyingly built. The cast is ridiculously talented and Driver and Murray are a dream pairing, but there's too little of interest once the dead take charge and the film turns from quirky world building to stock fight for survival, admittedly with some wry humor thrown in for good measure. Universal's Blu-ray delivers fully capable video and audio. Supplements are all short and of little value. Recommended.