When it was announced a year ago that acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch would be taking on a zombie film for his follow-up to the character drama of “Paterson,” people were confused but also excited. It’s not unusual for the director to switch genres between films and the cast that he had signed on for his zombie film, eventually titled “The Dead Don’t Die,” was stellar. So, though odd, why not let Jarmusch try his hand at a zombie film?
Well, as he revealed in a new Rolling Stone interview, the filmmaker is far from the first choice to make a zombie film. Even though he’s recently played around with genre works, specifically with “Only Lovers Left Alive,” which tackled vampires, Jarmusch is the first to admit that zombies really aren’t his thing.
“I’m not a zombie fan. I’m more of a vampire guy,” revealed the filmmaker. “They are complicated, they are sexual, they’re smart. They have a lot of difficult things they need to do to survive. They’re shape-shifters — now they are a bat, now they are a wolf! They’re fucking cool. What’s cool about a zombie? They’re lifeless forms. They’re soulless humanoids. They’re an excuse.”
The filmmaker goes on to say that he doesn’t really have much interest in zombie films, and doesn’t watch much TV, so “The Walking Dead” is out of the question. That being said, Jarmusch admits that there are some zombie films he enjoys, including the genre classics like “White Zombie” and “I Walk With A Zombie.” Although, he has to give credit where credit’s due when it comes to the legendary filmmaker that revolutionized the entire concept — George Romero.
“But to me, the great postmodern zombie director is George A. Romero. He’s the guy. And there are a lot of references for the Romero nerds in my movie. [Laughs] What he’s done is incredible,” Jarmusch said.
And he says that one of the biggest homages to a Romero classic is how the zombies operate in “The Dead Don’t Die.” As a riff on the ideas of “Dawn of the Dead,” where the undead regressed to their consumerism basis, the zombies in Jarmusch’s film will utter single words over and over again, referencing things they miss most of all, such as “Chardonnay,” “Wi-Fi,” and “Coffee.”
“Yeah, we borrowed that from ‘Dawn of the Dead,’” admits Jarmusch. “I love how [Romero] did that: They are inhabiting familiar places, they still crave things they craved when they were alive, but they’re soulless. They’re empty of everything except that single-cell desire for these things they used to have. It resonates with me.”
With “The Dead Don’t Die” getting fairly positive reviews, it appears that Jarmusch has yet another interesting addition to his IMDB, and perhaps a film that will see the eccentric filmmaker cross over with general audiences looking for their latest zombie fix.
“The Dead Don’t Die” is in theaters now.