The Dead Don't Die (2019)
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A small-town police force must navigate the bizarre consequences of a sudden zombie invasion.
The story
In the rural town of Centerville, police Chief Cliff Robertson and officer Ronnie Peterson respond to a report of a missing chicken. Their routine is disrupted when they notice strange occurrences, such as electronics failing and the sun remaining up past 8 p.m. As the town faces a sudden zombie invasion, the officers must navigate the escalating chaos. While the local community reacts in various ways—from a hardware store owner preparing for a fight to a mysterious hermit watching from the woods—the officers attempt to manage the growing threat of the undead.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In rural Centerville, officers Cliff and Ronnie investigate a missing chicken and encounter a hermit. The situation turns dire when zombies begin to reanimate, killing local residents. While the community reacts—Hank prepares for a fight at a hardware store and Zelda Winston manages a funeral home—the officers learn of the undead. They eventually discover that the apocalypse is linked to 'polar fracking' which altered the Earth's rotation. As the zombie count rises, the officers and their colleagues face the undead in various locations, including a police station and a cemetery. The film concludes with a surreal sequence involving a spinning UFO and a mysterious hermit watching the chaos. In a meta-twist, Ronnie reveals he was given the full script while Cliff only received his scenes.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jim Jarmusch
- Writers
- Jim Jarmusch · writer
- Cast and characters
- Bill Murray · Chief Cliff Robertson; Adam Driver · Officer Ronnie Peterson; Tilda Swinton · Zelda Winston; Chloë Sevigny · Officer Mindy Morrison; Steve Buscemi · Frank Miller; Danny Glover · Hank Thompson; Caleb Landry Jones · Bobby Wiggins; Selena Gomez · Zoe; Austin Butler · Jack; Luka Sabbat · Zack; Rosie Perez · Posie Juarez; Eszter Balint · Fern
- Genres
- absurdist zombie comedy; metacinematic
- Themes
- absurdity; environmental issues
- Tone and mood
- deadpan; silly
- Premise and plot tags
- zombie; metacinematic; parody
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its wit and cast while others found the deadpan delivery to be a bit draining.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 52
- Production trivia
- The film was selected as the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.; The film is included on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 100 Best Zombie Movies.; The production was filmed in several small communities in New York.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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