Review of Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011) by Elee Z — 04 Apr 2012

RESURRECT DEAD: Unwrapping the Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles.

In the late 80's and early 90's, Justin Duerr became fascinated with these tiles he uncovered in the Philadelphia streets. There were all largely similar in that they featured some basic prose: "Toynbee idea ... in Kubrick's 2001 ... Resurrect Dead ... on Planet Jupiter." Occasionally, the tiles would offer some kind of post-script or sidebar that detailed a larger narrative - thought to be about the life of the tile's author - but the central message about resurrecting the dead was always the same. As Duerr's interest grew, so did his sightings of the Toynbee tiles. A budding artist himself, Duerr is drawn into unlocking the mystery behind the tiles' author and creator - attempting to understand the intents and motivations behind this secret 'viral' campaign at a time long before the internet put its stamp on our culture.

Such is the case of RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES. As Duerr takes us on a personal journey, he slowly comes to the realization that 'personal journeys' are precisely what life is all about. Sightings of the tiles grow from city to city (and ultimately even to other countries), driving him into a near obsession to understand what it may all mean. Is it a message? Is it a cryptic warning? Is it a reflection on life? Could it be a hint of things to come? At the center of it all (as is the case with all good puzzles) is the classic 'whodunit'; clearly someone - or some group - is behind it all, and the fun comes in trying to unravel that grand identity.

That's where RESURRECT DEAD excels; it postulates several identities - based on the few established facts - and then begins to dissect it all for the viewer. The audience is brought along - step by step - into the act of solving the mystery, and it's a pleasant enough ride. It's an inventive puzzle - one that involves radical street art, reclusive geniuses, and even internet nerds. What it shows uniquely is that there's always a human element at the heart of any good mystery - a face to the enigma - and, whether that human is flawed or perfect, he's still inevitably misunderstood - despite the best efforts of even the world's greatest detectives. It's a curiously amazing little documentary that shows how one man - working solely from his own message and inspiration - can try to change the world.

The disc has been produced by Focus World. Visually, it's smartly constructed, though the editing of transitions seems to be a little sloppy for my tastes; fades seem to hold a bit long on the screen, and the picture could've easily be trimmed a few minutes with some elementary cuts and trims. Still, it looks good. Special features include an audio commentary by the film's director and the three novice investigators featured in the production. There's also a compilation of many of the Toynbee tiles captured in a stills gallery, some additional footage (nothing special), and deleted scenes.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED for fans of documentaries and even fans of mysteries. RESURRECT DEAD is essentially a procedural trying to uncover the secrets at the heart of a very human mystery. While it may not be to everyone's liking, it certainly pulls back the layers - one-at-a-time - until the viewers left with what may seem like an all-too-perfect, movie-style conclusion that begs credulity just a bit but no less satisfying.

In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Entertainment One provided me with a DVD screener for the expressed purposes of completing this review.