Netflix’s Gleefully Violent And Surreal R-Rated Comedy An All-Star Laugh

Absurdist satire is by far my favorite kind of media, and it’s even better when it’s done with proper financial backing and clean production, like 2019’s The Dead Don’t Die, to really sell it. The Dead Don’t Die hits that sweet spot and makes for a great double feature with 2004’s Shaun of the Dead. While both movies are zombie comedy flicks, the latter leans slapstick and The Dead Don’t Die lands closer to M. Night Shyamalan’s grossly misunderstood big budget B-movie, The Happening, in the sense that it plays things completely straight. Thanks to Adam Driver, Bill Murray, and Chloe Sevigny’s almost too deadpan delivery, we get ushered into a world where total chaos erupts as the beats are spoon-fed to us through news bumpers and blatant exposition drops used purely for comedic effect.

Self-aware without being insufferable, The Dead Don’t Die is a great flick to queue up when you want zombie-driven mayhem without overthinking anything. You can sit back while you clench your fists at how nonchalant everybody is because they already know “this isn’t gonna end well,” and you’re about to find out what everybody means by that.

Oh Man, This Isn’t Gonna End Well

Bill Murray and Adam Driver are Chief Cliff Robertson and Officer Ronnie Peterson in The Dead Don’t Die, two small-town policemen perfectly comfortable going through the motions. Cliff’s checked out because, as he brings up constantly, he was supposed to retire two years ago. Ronnie, the more level-headed officer, has a knack for flatly and accurately describing every situation with an almost enviable lack of emotional attachment. Joining them is Chloe Sevigny’s Officer Mindy Morrison, newer to the force but genuinely trying her best. Rounding out the lineup is Tilda Swinton’s Zelda Winston, an eccentric mortician with a Samurai streak whose sword basically never leaves her side.

The Dead Don’t Die introduces its conflict through news bumpers reporting animals acting strange and people being attacked by their otherwise friendly pets. After learning that polar fracking has altered the Earth’s rotation, the officers realize what’s at stake: the dead are reanimating and slowly taking over. Knowing little beyond “kill the head,” the crew sets out to assess just how screwed they are, with Ronnie repeating his trademark refrain, “this isn’t gonna end well.”

Self-Aware In The Best Kind Of Way

Breaking the fourth wall when necessary, The Dead Don’t Die follows horror movie logic to a T because it’s fully aware it’s a horror movie. Like The Happening, the dialogue is purposely wooden and the reactions from the leads are consistently phoned in. Driver, Murray, Sevigny, and Swinton give you little more than a bemused “huh” while the world collapses around them and they realize they’ll have to handle things themselves. The only person who seems remotely prepared is Bobby Wiggins (Caleb Landry Jones), the gas station attendant who knows his horror movies and exactly how to arm himself. The world is getting shredded in The Dead Don’t Die, and nobody seems to care, which is half the beauty of it.

The movie operates with a casual “okay what do we do now” rhythm as our heroes try to piece things together. They know they’re in trouble, but they’re a small town police force with limited resources and no clear sense of how widespread the outbreak really is. Ironically, Cliff and Ronnie are actually pretty competent, and most of the humor comes from them treating each increasingly absurd situation like another day on patrol while bickering about Sturgill Simpson’s aptly titled song “The Dead Don’t Die,” which plays often to make sure we never forget what we’re watching.

A Refreshing Spin On Zombie Tropes

A fun way to reinvigorate the zombie tropes we’ve all been sick of for years, The Dead Don’t Die is dry, dark, and deceptively charming. It works on pure horror movie logic, giving you plenty to latch onto emotionally, even while the characters remain hilariously detached. If you like your comedy deadpan and smirking, where other movies would make you want to shriek, you can stream it on Netflix as of this writing.