Christopher Culver
The rise of the internet in the 1990s suddenly gave people the ability to talk and form communities about all kinds of weird niche hobbies and mysteries that, as isolated individuals, they previously had to muse over in silence. One of these, I remember, was the "Toynbee Tiles", linoleum squares left on the streets of Philadelphia over these years that contained the cryptic message "Toynbee idea in Kubrick's 2001 Resurrect dead on planet Jupiter". (It's an odd American analogue to the mysterious man in Australia who used to go around scrawling "Eternity" everywhere.) The Toynbee tile maker was obviously a nutter, but in spite of much speculation among enthusiasts who would upload photos of tile sightings and try to riddle out the message, his or her identity remained a mystery... until this 2011 documentary film.RESURRECT DEAD tracks the work of an investigative team of nerds as they put together the pieces of Toynbee sightings from the late 1970s to the present, ultimately identifying the tile maker with an overwhelming degree of accuracy. These are Justin Duerr, the main face of the film, along with Colin Smith and Steve Weinik. Justin Duerr strikes this viewer as rather autistic, and his consuming interest in collecting Toynbee tile information and social awkwardness fills every frame. (I might not be the only one who thinks that his jerky mannerisms and obsession resemble cinema auteur Wes Anderson.) But Duerr is also an artist, and he's so curious about the Toynbee tile maker because he recognizes in the man, mentally ill though the tiler might be, a fellow artist and creative individual.The Toynbee tiler wasn't just leaving tiles. For a time in the 1980s, he would drive around Philadelphia broadcasting his theories over pirate radio. In the middle portion of RESURRECT DEAD, the trio of investigators make contact with radio enthusiasts who prove to have had some limited contact with the tiler back in the day. As the film ends, they have traced the tile maker to a Philadelphia address that belongs to a paranoid recluse. He refuses to answer the door, but his neighbours provide key information, like the fact that his car has a hole in the floorboard, presumably to drop the tiles surreptitiously. The decision to name this recluse might upset some viewers, but besides that single knock on the door and a mailed letter, the filmmakers don't try to intrude on his life, and they decide to just let him be, basking in the satisfaction that they've solved the mystery.I was intrigued by the tiles when I first came across the Toynbee tile community on the early web, around 1995 or so, and though I was never an obsessive like these filmmakers, the idea of the Toynbee tiles remained in the back of my mind as a quirky mystery over the years. While I was happy to discover that everything is now clear, I was disappointed by this documentary film. Its 90-minute length has a lot of filler, like dumb slow-motion replays of the group looking stunned as they learn key facts. Justin Duerr's narration to the camera is chock-a-block with "like", "uh...", "so...", "you know..." -- could he have not thought more clearly what he was going to say for his own film? Ultimately, I commend these investigators for their achievement, but anyone curious about the Toynbee tiles should just read the bare facts as laid out in 5 minutes' reading of press coverage of the investigation, or on everyone's favourite online encyclopedia. Sitting through an hour and a half of this doc just feels like wasted time.
keb arbn
This includes spoilers watch the movie first its very interesting. My theory is the tiler is really the tall thin guy, thats why they can never show him and leave it as a concluded film but undiscovered. Hes into that type of scene and knows exactly how they're made and speaks as if hes made several of them from personal experience. Many parts seem acted out and the makers are clearly hiding something. If they tiler wanted to stay hidden why would he post his mailing address in public for people to find? This is the Q&A which answers all questions.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teS54tIhsjc The government put a chip in my brain... ...so I will be resurrected on mars in the afterlife! Everything said above is a silly little lie and...
SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain
Resurrect Dead is one of those fascinating documentaries that highlights a mystery you really should have heard of. In Philadelphia and all over North/South America, strange tiles have been popping up for around 20 years. These tiles have a mysterious message and show up in the middle of the road where it would be almost impossible to place. Nobody seems to know who or why these messages are being left. A group of people have gradually over the years come together and investigated the mystery. Resurrect Dead is such a spooky little film. Not in your usual horror film kind of way, but just in the way the mystery unravels. They find out more and more, and to truly discuss it would also be to ruin it. As a documentary it is far from professional. Often the way talking heads were framed distracted me from what was being said. Its biggest success comes in its ending, where it gives us enough of an answer, but still leaves enough mystery.
AMichaelL
I found this documentary to be an interesting investigation into a very obscure mystery. The toynbee tiles were well known to me before this documentary, and their message was also clear to me. The thing which always made me wonder was 'why'. Why put this message on random tiles in seemingly random places? To a lesser extent, I also was curious if the person involved was either insane or enlightened. This movie does a great job of showing a thorough investigation into the mystery, and without giving anything away, I can say they did an amazing job, and they do determine who the original tiler (most likely) is.I am kind of curious how the investigators make a living, as it seems as though they spent an inordinate amount of time on this. Either way, props to them - because without their efforts we would ALL be in the dark about this very intriguing idea.
