Bill Murray and Jim Jarmusch have reunited for the zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die, but is there an after-credits scene to wait around for? After appearing in a string of forgettable studio comedies in the mid-90s and early ’00s, Murray successfully re-invented himself as an indie actor through his collaborations with people like Jarmush, Wes Anderson, and Sofia Coppola. For their fourth project together, The Dead Don’t Die, Jarmusch and Murray have invited people like Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Danny Glover, Tilda Swinton, and Steve Buscemi along for a distinctly Jarmuschian riff on George A. Romero’s American zombie invasion movies.

That description doesn’t really do the film’s packed cast justice, as the roster also includes Caleb Landry Jones, Selena Gomez, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Rosie Perez, Carol Kane, and Austin Butler in everything from supporting roles to one-scene appearances. And if the movie’s reception at the Cannes Film Festival was decidedly mixed at best, that’s sure to do little from discouraging Jarmusch’s devoted fans from checking out his latest ironic, idiosyncratic take on a genre after his work on cult films like Coffee and Cigarettes, Only Lovers Left Alive, Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Dead Man.

For those who were wondering, The Dead Don’t Die does NOT include an after-credits scene. It’s almost surprising though, as the rest of the film is so metatextual and self-referential that it literally has characters break the fourth wall and talk about the movie’s titular theme song and script in certain scenes. In an era where everything from Marvel and DC superhero tentpoles to Adam McKay’s satirical Dick Cheney biopic Vice include something extra during their end credits, one expects Jarmusch to take a shot at this by adding another scene or clip to his zombie film. Then again, by the same logic, that might be exactly why he didn’t.

The Dead Don’t Die has all the hallmarks of Jarmusch’s previous features, from its relaxed, meandering pacing to its soundtrack’s broody electric guitar chords, and the moments of dry wit or absurd comedy that punctuate the film’s otherwise moody atmosphere. Jarmusch’s fanbase is as niche as they come, but the writer-director has been making these kinds of movies (often on shoe-string budgets) for almost forty years by now, and even his lesser offerings provide audiences with a unique experience that, frankly, they’re not going to get anywhere else on the indie cinema scene.

The film isn’t in any rush to make it to the finish line either, so viewers may as well follow its example and sit through the end credits in their entirety. There might not be an additional scene waiting for them, but it’s still an easy way to show some respect to the many crew members that helped make The Dead Don’t Die a reality.

  • The Dead Don’t Die Release Date: 2019-06-14