Didn't Die
| Didn't Die | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Meera Menon |
| Written by | Meera Menon Paul Gleason |
| Produced by | Joe Camerota Erica Fishman Paul Gleason Meera Menon |
| Starring | Kiran Deol Vishal Vijayakumar Samrat Chakrabarti Katie McCuen George Basil |
| Cinematography | Paul Gleason |
| Edited by | Geoff Boothby |
| Music by | Samuel Jones |
| Distributed by | Level 33 Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Didn't Die is a 2025 American black and white zombie film written and directed by Meera Menon. It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.[1]
Menon's husband, Paul Gleason, was the film's co-writer and cinematographer.[2]
Plot
Vinita Malhotra, an Indian American podcaster celebrating her 100th episode, discovers the world has descended into a zombie apocalypse.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 61% of 41 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Didn't Die mixes lo-fi visuals, humor, and horror effectively, but uneven pacing and a slight premise keep its drama from fully landing."[3]
Josiah Teal of Film Threat described the film as "a hopeful zombie narrative with more than a few heartwarming moments and just enough quirk to earn its laughs. Menon has crafted a sweet zombie film without ever losing its gruesome edge."[4]
Michael Dunaway and Alisha Patterson, in an interview with the film's cast for Paste, called "An impressive achievement for Menon and her actors."[5]
Ritesh Mehta of Filmmaker wrote that it was a "delightfully desi zombie film—probably the first of its kind?—with characters enjoying dosa in the apocalypse, sipping 'chai tea' and joking about the wackiness of having a Hindu wedding in July."[6]
In a review for Collider, Emma Kiely wrote that "The horror and zombie aspects of Didn't Die are merely distractions from where Menon's talents truly lie — capturing the quiet subtleties that make us human."[7]
Siddhant Adlakha of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing that the film "almost works. Ironically, it narrowly misses cohesion, and the spark of life, because its premise keeps centering the dead."[2]
References
- ^ ""Didn't Die" Brings Improv to the Zombie Apocalypse". Sundance Film Festival. January 29, 2025.
- ^ a b Adlakha, Siddhant (January 28, 2025). "'Didn't Die' Review: Pandemic Zom-Com Has All the Right Ideas but Lacks Horror Execution". Variety.
- ^ "Didn't Die". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ Teal, Josiah (February 3, 2025). "Didn't Die". Film Threat. Archived from the original on February 17, 2025.
- ^ Dunaway, Michael; Patterson, Alisha (February 11, 2025). "A Different Kind of Zombie Flick: Meera Menon, Kiran Deol and George Basil on Didn't Die". Paste.
- ^ Mehta, Ritesh (January 29, 2025). "COVID Zombies in the Fire: Meera Menon on Didn't Die". Filmmaker.
- ^ Kiely, Emma (January 29, 2025). "Didn't Die' Review: Modern Zombie Movie Works Brilliantly as a Family Drama But Lacks the Horror". Collider.
External links
- Didn't Die at IMDb