The film had its world premiere as the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019. It was theatrically released in North America on June 14, 2019 by Focus Features, and earned $15.3 million at the box office. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
In rural Centerville, police officers Cliff Robertson and Ronnie Peterson respond to a report from farmer Frank Miller regarding a missing chicken, and briefly interact with Hermit Bob, a bearded eccentric, in the woods. On their way back to the station, Cliff notices there is still daylight after 8 p.m. and Ronnie's watch and cell phone stop working. Later, at a diner, hardware store owner Hank Thompson hears a radio report concerning polar fracking.
Two zombies reanimate when night falls and kill the two diner employees, Fern and Lily, who are discovered by Hank the next morning. Ronnie believes zombies killed the employees. Young travelers Zoe, Jack and Zack stop for gas and meet Bobby.
At the Centerville Juvenile Detention Center, Geronimo tells fellow inmates Olivia and Stella that polar fracking has altered the Earth's rotation.
Cliff and Ronnie find open graves at the cemetery, while Hermit Bob spies on them. Cliff emphatically rejects Ronnie's suggestion of informing Miller of the general suspicion that zombies are on the loose. Ronnie teaches Cliff how to kill zombies, and Bobby and Hank prepare weapons. Motel owner Danny Perkins watches news about pets behaving strangely and then finds out his cats are missing. Other of Farmer Miller's animals have disappeared.
That evening, more zombies rise, and Danny is attacked and transformed. Cliff and Ronnie bring supplies to the station and tell fellow officer Mindy Morrison about the zombies. The corpse of Mallory reanimates in the police station and Ronnie decapitates her.
Two corpses reanimate at the funeral home and are beheaded by Zelda Winston (who recently bought the funeral home) with a sword. She goes to the police station, where the three officers leave her to operate communications. The cops drive through town and find the three travelers dead at the motel. Ronnie beheads the bodies, much to Mindy's distress, and takes Zoe's Sturgill Simpson CD. Zelda waves her hand over the police computer and it generates code. Ronnie begins playing the CD on the police car sound system, but Cliff throws the CD out the car window.
Hank and Bobby face zombies at the hardware store. Each zombie says only one word, related to something from their past or an item they see as a zombie. Zombies maul Miller. Geronimo, Olivia and Stella flee the detention center, again observed by Hermit Bob. When zombies overwhelm the patrol car at the cemetery, Mindy sees her dead grandmother, and exits the car, only to be engulfed by zombies. Ronnie and Cliff tell each other to shut up. Ronnie says he knew all would end badly because Jimgave him the entire script ahead of time, while Cliff only got the pages for his own scenes.
Zelda drives Ronnie's car through town, stopping to behead one last Fashion Zombie, and then walks calmly through the cemetery with sword in hand. Zombies amble away from the patrol car as a spinning UFO appears over the cemetery. Cliff and Ronnie watch as it beams up Zelda and departs. The two leave the car, and kill zombies including Bobby, Miller, Danny, Hank, and Mindy. Hermit Bob watches from the woods through binoculars, lamenting how the world is a terrible place, as zombies overwhelm Cliff and Ronnie.
Cast
Bill Murray as Chief Cliff Robertson, a police officer who resides in Centerville.
Adam Driver as Officer Ronnie Peterson, Cliff's partner and fellow police officer.
Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston, an eccentric Scottish resident of Centerville who has recently bought the Funeral Home.
Chloë Sevigny as Officer Mindy Morrison, a fellow police officer who works with Cliff and Ronnie.
Steve Buscemi as Frank Miller, a farmer and resident of Centerville.
Danny Glover as Hank Thompson, the hardware store owner and resident of Centerville.
Caleb Landry Jones as Bobby Wiggins, the gas station attendant and toy shop owner.
In March 2018, Murray announced that Daniel Craig and Rosie Perez were set to costar. Speaking of the project, Murray stated:
It's a zombie movie. Jim Jarmusch has written a zombie script that's so hilarious and it has a cast of great actors: Rosie Perez, Daniel Craig. It's titled The Dead Don't Die, and it shoots over the summer. But, no, I will not play a zombie.[8]
The Dead Don't Die had its world premiere as the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019.[12] The film was released in the United States on June 14, 2019[13] and on July 12, 2019 in the United Kingdom. The studio spent $2–3 million on domestic promotion.[14]
Reception
Box office
The Dead Don't Die grossed $6.5 million in North America and $8.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $15.3 million.[3][6]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $2.4 million from 613 theaters.[14]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 54%, based on 310 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Dead Don't Die dabbles with tones and themes to varying degrees of success, but sharp wit and a strong cast make this a zom-com with enough brains to consume."[15]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]
Alex Leininger of PopMatters wrote "It's a curious film, one that acknowledges the end of the world blatantly without once forgetting to be steadfastly, almost dementedly, silly. It's a smart if minor work from a masterfully innovative director."[17] In a review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott wrote that "The Dead Don't Die respects the horror genre without really committing to it."[18]
Todd McCarthy, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, said of the film "At times, the deadpan of Murray and Driver becomes, well, a bit deadening, and true wit is in short supply, even though the film remains amusing most of the way."[19]
