Killer cast, lifeless plot.

Jim Jarmusch is certainly an acquired taste. As one of the darlings to emerge from the 90s American indie scene, his penchant for nothingness and humour so deadpan its pulse is almost nonexistent, is, understandably, not everyone’s cup of tea. As a film student in the early 00s, it was almost a prerequisite to be into (or at least pretend to be into) the director but his style definitely clicked with me.

When it works, it works. However Jarmusch’s particular brand of filmmaking doesn’t always work. Early efforts like Stranger Than Paradise and Mystery Train were the perfect platforms for the auteur but as the years have gone by, his filmography has become pretty inconsistent.

The Dead Don’t Die sees Jarmusch at his most disappointing. As ever, all the ingredients are there for a classic Jarmusch tale, yet the intersection of his dry, offbeat humour with the zombie genre never really gels.

A Jim Jarmusch zombie flick stuffed with a dream cast of pretty much anyone and everyone the director has ever worked with sounds like a riot, however the execution feels lifeless. Everything is in place to succeed, with on-point individual performances and an admirably out there plot but the script lacks any sort of bite, even by Jarmusch’s standards.

Knowingly arch and self referential, The Dead Don’t Die seems a little too full of itself at times, causing it to forget how to execute a good zombie plot. With nods to Romero and every zombie classic you can think of, the film certainly knows it’s stuff, yet lacks drive to follow through on its promise.

Jarmusch movies meander. It’s what makes them tick. But when you put this tendency to wander in the middle of a genre as visceral as this, it just doesn’t meld well. What starts off brightly slowly dims into nothing with a narrative that could kindly be described as loose, towards an end that seems to forget its purpose altogether.

For their part, the impressive ensemble are great, although several come and go in the blink of an eye. In particular, the central trio of Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigne, and Jarmusch stalwart Bill Murray work well together and fit the film’s tone perfectly.

For zombie fans, The Dead Don’t Die May offer some thrills, yet it never feels funny enough to rank among the likes of Shaun of the Dead, nor potent enough to be considered in the same league as Romero’s classics. For Jarmusch aficionados, the film offers all the usual deadpan delights and a killer cast that keeps things interesting even through its driest moments. Ultimately, however, while the concept of a zombie flick in the Jarmusch universe is an intriguing one, the execution leaves much to be desired, with a lifeless plot that will leave many cold.