The Dead Don’t Die

     Famed “Indie” writer/director Jim Jarmusch has made many classic films over the years...this is not one of them.

      The very definition of deadpan humor, the film lumbers along at a snails pace never changing its tone. The film stars Bill Murray (no one does deadpan better), Adam Driver, and Chloe Sevigny as local cops in a small town, dealing with a zombie outbreak. Between the three of them, the energy level of the acting never rises above that of a sloth.

       Mr. Jarmusch blames the rise of the undead on polar fracking that shifts the earth off its axis. His zombies rise and appear to seek out whatever they enjoyed prior to their death. His point appears to be, we are all zombies lumbering through life obsessed with commercialism. Iggy Pop and Carol Kane have cameos as  flesh eating zombies seeking out coffee and Chardonnay, respectively. That’s the level of humor you can expect.
  
        Also co-starring are Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, RZA and Tilda Swilton. Ms. Swilton’s character is the most bizarre and her story line wanders off in a completely different direction with no explanation. Selena Gomez also shows up in a nod to the original Zombiemaster, George Romero, but has nothing to do except become another victim. It’s a fun visual gag but it just reminds you that Mr. Romero did a better job with the same idea in “Dawn of the Dead”.

         The cast seem to be having a great time among themselves. The audience, with the exception of a very few solid laughs, not so much.