Sundance Film Festival Review (Sunday Scaries Edition): ‘Didn’t Die’ Has Just Enough Ideas to Be a Zombie Comedy with Some Brains

When a horror comedy has some ideas it’s pondering as well as the usual scares/giggles, that’s a nice little bonus. Sometimes, that mixture can help paper over flaws and give you a fonder feeling for a flick than you otherwise might. That certainly applies to Didn’t Die, the Sundance Film Festival zombie comedy that mixes horror with podcasting.

Didn’t Die is more of an exercise than anything else, but it’s different enough, and just enough elements work, that you don’t regret the time you’ve spent with it. It also manages to be a COVID-19 parable without actively becoming irritating, which so many movies of that ilk have failed at. By the time the credits roll, you don’t feel like you’ve watched something special, but you do feel like you’ve watched something different.

Indian American podcaster Vinita Malhotra (Kiran Deol) is celebrating the 100th episode of her show. That wouldn’t be especially noteworthy, except for the fact that she has to be careful, because at night, zombies, or biters, overrun the world. There’s still some semblance of society, and clearly some interest in the world of podcasting, though Vinita’s stories of life and love may not be at the forefront of people’s minds.

As the zombie apocalypse unfolds around her, Vinita, along with her brother Rishi (Vishal Vijayakumar) are determined to continue the podcast tour, even if listeners are rapidly shrinking due to, well, becoming zombie food. When the biters begin showing up during daylight hours, Rishi is far more concerned than Vinita. Eventually showing up at the home of their brother Hari (Samrat Chakrabarti) and his wife Barbara (Katie McCuen), they have time reminisce about happier times, as well as find safety. Of course, with zombies, that’s always only temporary.

Kiran Deol does solid work in the lead. She has solid sibling chemistry with Vishal Vijayakumar, which is part of the highlight here. The interpersonal elements are the most successful element of the flick. Supporting players here include the aforementioned Chakrabarti and McCuen, as well as George Basil, plus others.

Meera Menon directs while co-writing with her husband/cinematographer Paul Gleason. There are numerous homages to Night of the Living Dead, though obviously the tone is different here. Didn’t Die works better as a comedy than as horror, though it’s not an egregious imbalance.

Didn’t Die has enough going here to intrigue a curious genre fans. It’s a decent Sundance entry this year that could be fun for a specialty horror fan. Just know that there’s as much comedy here, where that’s more successful than the zombie element.

SCORE: ★★★