It’s been quite a while since Selena Gomez last graced the silver screen. People almost forgot that the 26-year-old singer got her start as an actress before becoming a pop star.
But it looks like she’s going back to her acting roots with the recent release of her first foray into the horror movie genre, ‘The Dead Don’t Die’.
Horror Fan
The self-confessed horror fan stars as Zoe, a ‘hipster with issues’, in the Jim Jarmusch feature. According to Gomez, her obsession with the genre began as a child when her father let her watch scary movies so he can have a laugh.
While her dad initially expected her to be scared, the singer eventually loved the movies she watched. Some of her favorite zombie movies include ’28 Days Later’, ‘Zombieland’ and the television show ‘The Walking Dead’.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May and will be released in American theaters in June of this year. Gomez’s last appeared on film in 2016 with starring and supporting roles in the films ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ and ‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising’.
Zombie Comedy
Meant to be a comedic take on the popular zombie subgenre, the film follows the story of a town called Centerville and its residents’ quest to survive an attack from the undead. Its main characters are three of the town’s police officers and a Scottish drag queen turned mortician, who all band together for survival.
According to BBC Culture, the movie pays tribute to 50s sci-fi B-movies most particularly George Romero’s seminal film ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space’. Thus, it’s not surprising to know that most of its comedic aspects are references to other subgenre classics told in a deadpan style of humor.
‘The Dead Don’t Die’ currently holds a 54% rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Most critics found the film lacking when it comes to plot and writing but praised the cast’s superb performances and comedic timing.
General audiences have to wait for another month to see the film but can watch its official trailer on Youtube to get a glimpse of the ‘zom-com’.
Star-Studded Cast
Gomez is joined by plenty of other familiar faces. One of them is indie darling and former model Chloe Sevigny who plays the nervous small-town cop Mindy in the film. Unlike Gomez though, Sevigny admits that she isn’t really a fan of horror movies because her Catholic upbringing made them extra realistic and scary for her.
Meanwhile, Austin Butler and Luka Sabbat play Zoe’s (Gomez’s character) friends, Jack and Zach. In the film, the trio was just passing through Centerville on a road trip when they’re unexpectedly caught in the chaos of a zombie apocalypse.
Veteran actor Bill Murray and award-winning performer Adam Driver play the other two police officers that work with Mindy (Sevigny).