THE DEAD DON’T DIE
★★★★★
(15) THIS offbeat black comedy zombie apocalypse shuffles to the unique, intriguing and pessimistic rhythm tapped out by writer, director and allround indie maestro Jim Jarmusch.
A man-made eco-disaster has enabled the dead to rise and feast on the intestines of the living, kick-starting a very bad day for small-town cops Bill Murray and Adam Driver.
Seemingly engaged in a private competition as to who can deliver their lines in the most deadpan and (15) downbeat way, they’re among several Jarmusch regulars to feature, such as singer Tom Waits as a gravel-voiced narrator, and Tilda Swinton’s samurai sword-wielding Scottish undertaker.
Full of nods, winks and direct references to other movies, the self-aware script and knowing performances play on the audiences’ familiarity with the actors and situations, confounding expectations and adding layers of meaning to the deliberately banal dialogue.
A lament for cinema as well as humanity, it suggests we’re all dead men walking and it’s what we deserve. investigators leave their young daughter in the care of her high-school babysitter and her impetuous best friend, Annabelle unleashes various demonic spirits such as a hellhound, a haunted wedding dress and a samurai warrior, who stagger about infirm of purpose.
Time drags in this severe case of consequence-free paranormal inactivity, and nearly all the action is limited to the house, with its early 1970s styling being creepier than the ghouls. It all feels like a Night At The Museum film, but without the scares, or the laughs.