Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011)

An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.

Director:

Jon Foy

Writers:

Jon Foy, Colin Smith

Stars:

Justin Duerr, Colin Smith, Steve Weinik

Cast

Credited cast:
Justin Duerr
Colin Smith
Steve Weinik

Storyline

Strangeness is afoot. Most people don't notice the hundreds of cryptic tiled messages about resurrecting the dead that have been appearing in city streets over the past three decades. But Justin Duerr does. For years, finding an answer to this long-standing urban mystery has been his obsession. He has been collecting clues that the tiler has embedded in the streets of major cities across the U.S. and South America. But as Justin starts piecing together key events of the past he finds a story that is more surreal than he imagined, and one that hits disturbingly close to home.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Powstanie umarlych: Zagadka plytek Toynbee

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,054 (USA) (2 September 2011)

Gross:

$14,861 (USA) (9 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Land of Missing Parts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Justin Duerr: Well, stranger things have happened.
[pause]
Justin Duerr: Nah, that's not true. Nothing stranger has ever happened.

User Reviews

Thoroughly Compelling - and Intriguing

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.