It’s been two years since a zombie outbreak devastated America. The survivors include a trio of Indian American siblings, whose parents are among the undead known as the “biters”.
The situation has normalised to the best possible degree. The living have learnt to defend themselves. Hari (Samrat Chakrabarti) and his wife Barbara (Katie McQuen) are holed up in the home where Hari’s family lived. Vinita (Kiran Deol) copes by hosting a podcast titled Didn’t Die.
Vinita is helped by her youngest brother Rish (Vishal Vijayakumar).
Humour, community networks and pragmatism are among the coping mechanisms in Didn’t Die, which was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (January 23-February 2). Indian-American filmmaker Meera Menon’s movie, co-written with cinematographer Paul Gleason, is a low-budget, high-impact exploration of the emotional costs of dealing with the sudden disappearance of all that humankind holds dear.
Shot mostly in powdery monochrome, Didn’t Die doubles up as a metaphor for the recent Covid-19 pandemic or any global catastrophe that could upend lives. While the 93-minute movie includes typical elements of the zombie genre, Menon anchors the turn of events in palpable feeling.
Grim comedy gives way to deeply felt emotions over the efforts needed to stay alive. Simple compact, and often moving, and with convincing performances, Didn’t Die proves that zombie films don’t need huge budgets or masses of staggering extras to be effective.
The Indian flavour adds an extra layer of recognition for viewers in this part of the world, who can relate to the idea of a family gutted by tragedy and struggling to pick up the pieces.
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