"You can keep losing after loss." - Hélène Cixous
Meera Menon's post-apocalyptic dramedy Didn't Die is a sincere indie about podcasting and zombies: a black-and-white love letter to George A. Romero's early works with a modern spin. Walkers aren't unleashed in a 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead 2004 way — you're not here for the bloodshed. Menon and co-writer Paul Gleason's delicate touches to undead storytelling parallel The Walking Dead episodes that focus on community over flesh-munching (be warned). Didn't Die fits into more mumblecore horror modes, and while Menon hits on comically mushy survival notes, there can be a dragging sensation beyond zombies' feet.
Kiran Deol stars as Vinita Malhotra, a successful Indian American podcast host. She returns from a cross-country road tour where she interviews other survivors of a subsided zombie outbreak. Said zombies are still alive, but they're only aggressive at night. Vinita is accompanied by her timid brother Rish (Vishal Vijayakumar), a nervous wreck who fears zombies in a way that his sister mocks. Upon reuniting with laid-back brother Hari (Samrat Chakrabarti) and his on-guard wife Barbara (Katie McCuen), Vinita prepares for her 100th anniversary episode she'll record live in a local courthouse — not your routine doomsday entertainment. But, as walkers start appearing in the daytime, the reality of zombie evolution becomes a building paranoia.
What you take from Didn't Die can be personalized, since its pandemic setting fits any disaster (COVID-19 mirroring stings). Themes are malleable in a comforting and resonating way. As a workaholic, Vinita's creative submergence and sarcastic quips keep her optimistic yet ignorant not only of the dangers around, but her emotional state (damn, just read through me). There are also poignant moments where characters bicker about being underprepared or overserious, commenting on how hardships come in waves, yet we can still pursue happiness between plummets. It's nothing fancy — Didn't Die is a movie about loss, grief, and anxiety like many before. Menon's delivery is powerful and organic enough to rise above mundanity, and her perspective is wholesome.
"Little" moments shine, the interludes that make us forget zombies could swarm at any second. Vinita's reconnection with cheater ex-boyfriend Vincent (George Basil) is hardly a meet-cute at first — he interrupts her live show trying to pawn off an adorable baby (saved from "Biters") — but their romantic comedy bits are genuinely funny. Or there's Vinita's comments about Barbara, roasting her Caucasianness despite trying to embrace Indian culture. Menon's return to feature filmmaking after a successful stint in television brings a sitcom vibe, pursuing lighthearted scenes that hopefully establish familial connections. Characters excel in their interpersonal conflicts and resolutions, driving home the story's core emotional elements with a freshness that overpowers the stench of rotting flesh.
Paramount among themes is the anchor of loss; how life’s cycle doesn't stop. While there's a peppiness to piano cocktail hours and silly toy-soldier motions while patrolling yards, Didn't Die weighs heavy when darkness creeps back into frame. Survival is not the end; it's the beginning. Vinita's deterrence of misery in miserable times is a vice; it's not a coping mechanism. Menon's screenplay is honest, and while improvisational methods can leave a little airlessness, there's an authenticity that can't be denied. That quote above, "You can keep losing after loss," looms like an unkindness of ravens circling overhead. Poetically, the film shows that trying to live and trying not to die are two very different things — a stern reminder, but a thoughtful one.
That said, the horror half of Didn't Die — or, more reasonably, less than half — feels underserved. Menon's homages to Night of the Living Dead, from outside architecture shots to the color-drained display, play differently with laughs peppered between frights. Biters shamble from afar, hordes are small, and shadowy effects that multiply threats using figure outlines don't strike fearfulness. Menon's direction lacks Romero's ferocity, primarily because she's deeply invested in Vinita's mental anguish. Horror accents are undoubtedly second fiddle, and later zombie escalations attack as expected. As a genre hybrid, there's an unmistakable imbalance.
Still, Didn't Die lingers and lurches towards a compelling conclusion. It's a homegrown affair that benefits from Menon's all-in-the-family production (that's even her dog on camera). Horror fans might be left starving for something more bloodthirsty, but Menon's not making Didn't Die for those audiences. It's for her, and that personalization permits her storytelling to echo great meaning for anyone else who's searching for a way forward.
Movie Score: 3/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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