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Didn’t Die

Post-zombie-apocalyptic podcaster struggles to maintain her listener base, with most of humanity either brain-dead or brain-ravenous - live from Sundance  

Meera Menon’s third feature film film adds some post-mortem flavour to this year’s Sundance. The director – who penned this cheeky mix of splatter, comedy and family drama alongside cinematographer Paul Gleason – only partly succeeds in her efforts to put a fresh spin on the genre. The lack of originality is not surprising, given how heavy her work is both indebted to and infatuated with George A. Romero’s formative classic. From the moody black-and-white cinematography to the credit font and the zombie theme itself: Nods to Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968) are as abundant in the small-town setting as are the undead “biters”.

The why of the zombie plague is never explored. Instead, the unhurried plot focuses on the how. Question: how do people go on living in a world where death can knock on their door any moment? Answer: by always having a javelin or stake at hand. Question: how do they find human connection within a drastically depleted population? Answer: by listening to podcasts such as the titular show, hosted by the pragmatic Vinita (Kiran Deol). Having just completed her 100th episode, she takes a break from touring the countryside with her maladjusted younger brother (Vishal Vijayakumar), who even after two years of post-apocalyptic survival has never killed a zombie.

This leads the darkly humorous plot to the last and most relevant narrative question: how do those who didn’t die live with such profound sadness? In a way, such disregard for mourning is reminiscent of Covid. The emotional fallout of death becomes a recurring theme, though one never fully developed. With the unfazed casualness of her hero, Menon skips from one issue to the next. There are family ties that need to be severed or strengthened depending on whether the relative in question is still alive. There is Vinita’s unreliable ex Vincent (George Basil) turning up again, and an orphaned baby demanding protection.

Plot points end up either discarded or hastily stitched together, making this a story where both too much and too little happens. Action, suspense and scares are traded for morbid jokes. Many of these, unfortunately, fall flat, leaving the family drama as the strongest aspect of a frustratingly underbaked work. But the lacklustre special effects, hoards of unconvincing extras and most of all a fragmented story undermine these qualities. It’s the kind of film one just can’t hate – but it’s also rather hard to love.

Didn’t Die just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.


By Lida Bach - 28-01-2025

Born in Berlin, buried in Paris (not yet). Loves movies. Hates some, too. Critic of film and most other things. Professional movie journalist. Apart from the “getting paid“ part. When she was...

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