THE DEAD DON’T DIE

US, 2019, 112 minutes, Colour.
Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloe Sevigny, Tom Waites, Steve Buscemi, Eszter Balint, Danny Glover, Maya Delmont, Talyiha Whitaker, Kevin McCormack?, Syd O' Connell, Caleb Landry Jones, RZA, Iggy Pop, Larry Fessenden, Rosie Perez, Jahi di’ Allo Winston, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, Simpson Sturgill.
Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

“Kill the Head� is the principal and practical message of this excursion into the world of zombies, especially when we ourselves are confronted by them and their unrelenting menace, and illustrated particularly effectively by Scots mortician, Tilda Swinton, wielding her sword with expertise and dispatching the zombies quickly and efficiently. Which actually means that the title is not exactly accurate – the living dead can die.

A story is told that Tilda Swinton and writer-director, Jim Jarmusch, were talking after completing their vampire film, Only Lovers Left Alive. They found a mutual attraction in zombie stories – and, so, here we are. The Dead Don’t Die was the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival of 2019 – not particularly the type of genre for many festivalgoers but the director and his cast have strong reputations.

Some word-of-mouth claimed that the film was hilarious, a sendup of the genre. But, some fans who revel in the exuberance of hundreds of living dead converging on the living didn’t find it so hilarious. Perhaps the word to describe the action and the language of the screenplay is “droll�. And, it is enjoyably droll.

Bill Murray and Adam Driver play two local police officers, with Chloe Sevigny doing all the desk work back at the office. The conversation between them all is always with underlying humour, one might say in this context “dead-pan�. They discover mystery in the woods and attribute it to the ultra-wild-looking hermit, played by Tom Waites. It is not long before the zombies arrive, causing mayhem at the local diner after we have been enjoying the chitchat between the two waitresses, then, menace throughout the small town of Centreville which, as a sign outside the town reads, it is “real nice�.

The plot is not very elaborate – it just needs a few quirky characters to interest and amuse the audience, an eccentric Bob who has a stall for “gas and other stuff� and is a nerdish expert on pop culture (Caleb Landry Jones) who chats with a veteran store owner, Hank (Danny Glover), Farmer Frank who wears a cap stating ‘Make America White Again’. Then three young people drive into town, described by the locals as “hipsters�.

Which means then there is the question of who will survive – and when and how the rest of the characters will be zombiefied.

And, Jarmusch, enjoying his droll treatment of his themes, does note that Adam Driver continually says that it will all end badly – and later being revealed that he has read the whole script and knows the ending! And, there are in jokes about Simpson Sturgill’s song, The Dead Don’t Die, which turns out to be the theme, frequently played, and also the subject of some jokes.

Jim Jarmusch may not consider it one of his greatest films – but, it would seem that he considers it one of his most entertaining and enjoyable. (There is a credit for Zombie Movement Consultant – and someone is thanked with ‘undying love’.

1. The title? The theme? The tone?

2. The films of Jim Jarmusch, offbeat, his range of casts?

3. The droll tone, the use of spoof, deadpan humour?

4. The background, global weather and change, the world on its axis, off its axis, Polar fracking? The political background in the Trump era, the With “Make America White Again�? Officialdom and its lies about the environment…?

5. A variation on the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic themes?

6. Communication, the media, television, radio, Rosie Peres as the announcer, news and interviews? Radio music – especially with the recurring theme song?

7. The zombie tradition, appearances, movement, cannibals, “Kill the Head� motto?

8. The atmosphere, the policeman out in the woods, their car, the dead chicken, speculation, Hermit Bob, Cliff knowing him from school? The shouting match? Bob and his watching? His watching throughout the film – and his having the final word and comment?

9. Audience response to the police, the more deadpan presence, remarks, Ronnie and everything ending badly, the script references within the script? Partners, characters, age difference, humour? Back at the station, Mindi and her role, personality, her contribution?

10. The American town, Centreville, the small population, its being ‘real nice’? Ordinary, police precincts, homes, the stores, Farmer Frank? The
juvenile detention centre? Bob and his Gas and Stuff station? The interiors and his media memorabilia? The diner and the staff? Middle America?

11. Danny, the motel, the loss of his cats? Frank, the chickens disappearing, the cattle moving off? His dog racing away? Hank, his store, puzzled? Bob at his store, customers referring to Lord of the Rings? His ability with quotes?

12. Zelda, the stranger in town, her pronounced Scots accent, the mortuary, her mortician work, her appearance like a variation on Galadrial? Seeing her at work in embalming, the corpses’ eyes opening? Her skill at martial arts, her weapons? Her mannered walk, turning at right angles, police station, knowing who was who, yet getting information? Her formality? The offer to take over during the crisis, her ability to work the computer, killing the zombies, the spacecraft coming down and her being taken up in a close encounter?

13. The juvenile detention centre, the kids and their talk, the harsh guards, Geronimo being more with the girls? The eventual escape into the woods? The guards killed by the zombies?

14. The three travellers, in their car, considered hipsters, their personalities, interactions, staying at the motel, talk with the police, the cash for the snacks? Protection? Their being found dead? The CD of the theme song?

15. The preparation of the zombies, drawing on the conventions of their walk, manner, yet their being drawn to their past, cannibals?

16. The three police in the car, Mindi more desperate, her grandmother, getting out? The two men in the car, trapped, the cemetery, Ronnie talking about what the script said about ending badly, Cliff’s response of not having seen in whole script? Getting desperate, getting out of the car, the kind
of Western siege of the two and their being overpowered by the zombies?

17. Jim Jarmusch and his cast having fun, expectations by Jarmusch fans, his droll intentions?