It’s surprising more contemporary zombie films haven’t been thinly-veiled metaphors for the COVID-19 pandemic. In that vein, Meera Menon‘s bleakly amusing “Didn’t Die” has the right idea — one of several remarkable conceptual instincts— though its end result is somewhat scattered. The movie follows sardonic Indian American podcast host Vinita Malhotra (Kiran Deol) through romantic and familial reunions as her show celebrates its 100th episode. Menon attempts to juggle this straightforward plot with thoughtful reflections on lingering trauma two years into an apocalypse, though the film doesn’t always succeed.
Menon’s monochrome zombie comedy-drama is, first and foremost, a character piece: it works best when the audience is allowed to forget about its horror subgenre. Intentional or otherwise, this makes for a fitting embodiment of how mane people operate…