Sundance Review: ‘Didn’t Die’ is a Subdued Take on the Zombie Genre

by Abe Friedtanzer

There’s no shortage of zombie films and TV shows out there, and, as a result, there are almost innumerable variations on the premise of the undead. The Sundance entry Didn’t Die is best summarized by its podcast host protagonist’s declaration: “Nobody told me the apocalypse was going to be so boring.” Still, this film finds a good deal of content to mine from that premise...

Vinita (Kiran Deol) hosts a podcast that shares this film’s title, recounting her continued success at being alive despite the ongoing zombie apocalypse and providing both updates on society and commentary on banal things. Where are all the hot people, she asks, while advocating for more orgies, sticking to what she believes are critical topics since she needs to talk about something other than mere survival. It’s hard to know who’s out there listening, and the return of Vinita’s ex Vincent (George Basil), who inexplicably has a baby with him, provides more fodder than Vinita wants for a potentially refreshed perspective that will change the nature of the message she’s putting out to her audience.

Having Vinita celebrate the 100th episode of her podcast is an interesting device that serves to mark time in a way that post-apocalyptic stories rarely do. She’s holding on to something concrete even if there’s no one on the other end listening, but having that specificity and milestone keeps her going. It does feel more like a radio show than a modern-day podcast, but in a world that no longer looks anything like ours, people are going to communicate however they can. 

This is the third feature film from director Meera Menon, her first in almost a decade after working steadily in television, including on several episodes of The Walking Dead franchise. There is something about even just the title of the podcast that feels connected to that universe’s spin on its own name, which once identified the living as the walking dead rather than the zombies. Vinita notes that saying “didn’t die” over and over again has resulted in it losing much of its meaning, and it may also just be the only thing that she hasn’t done - she’s not quite living, but at least she didn’t die. 

The conversations, both during podcast recordings and in-person interactions, are what prove most memorable about this minimalist film logically described as an homage to George Romero’s formative contributions to the genre. Didn’t Die is hardly a groundbreaking fully fresh take on the zombie movie, but it does have enticing observations to offer that may appeal to both horror fans and cinephiles who prefer straight dramas. B

Didn’t Die makes its world premiere in the Midnight section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.