Life After Beth (2014)

Don't Believe the Hype

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Taking a look at a thread on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best titles of 2015,I spotted a fellow IMDber mention a zombie Romantic Comedy.With a friend being a fan of the Zom-Rom-Com Shaun of the Dead,I decided that it was time to meet Beth.The plot:A week after his girlfriend Beth Slocum has died from a snakebite, Zach Orfman helps Beth's parents Maury & Geenie to put her items away.Walking back home,Zach spots a strange object walking round the Slocum household.Knocking on the door,Zach is shocked to discover that Beth has come back from the dead! Whilst Beth's parents celebrate her "resurrection",Zach begins to fear that his girlfriend's return will cause the world to end.View on the film:Chewing the zombie scenery around them, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Paul Reiser & Cheryl Hines each give wonderful performances as the parents of Zach and Beth,with their improv backgrounds giving the parents a jazzy edge as they search after logic for Beth's zombie return.Going from mourning to dating the dead, Dane DeHaan gives a very good performance as Zach,who DeHaan shows to be more anxious over knocking on the Slocum door than he is taking his zombie girlfriend out for a date. Caked in flaky zombie make up,the cute Aubrey Plaza gives a great performance as Beth,thanks to Plaza giving Beth a dead-pan comedic bite,which is joined by a zombie rage that Plaza puts an explosive amount of energy in.Inspired by the TV Comedy show that some of the cast have starred in,writer/director Jeff Baena gives the title a slick mock-doc appearance.Largely keeping away from "shaky-cam" Baena uses the fake doc look to give the film a frantic atmosphere,as punch lines dart across the screen whilst the dead walk the earth.For the screenplay,Baena gives the romance between Beth & Zach a sweet sincerity,with the comedic one-liners being wrapped in a breezy atmosphere which folds out in the films surprisingly melancholy final notes,as Zach begins to wonder if he has to get set (again!) for life after Beth.

The synopsis of this movie is what caught my interest, and the DVD cover also brandished 'the best zom-rom-com since Shaun of the Dead'. So I will say that the playing field for this movie was right there for a home-run.But the movie turned out to be just another mediocre zombie movie, and I will say that "Warm Bodies" was much, much better than "Life After Beth". So there is a comparison for you right there.While "Life After Beth" started out alright, then director Jeff Baena set up the scenario for more than he could handle, and t he movie just fell to a heap of disappointing pieces.There wasn't a single moment throughout the movie that made me laugh, so for a comedy, then the movie failed to deliver. The movie was adequate entertainment, don't get me wrong, but it hardly sustains more than a single viewing.The cast list was good though, and people were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters."Life After Beth" was a mediocre movie that set out to accomplish more than it could handle, and as such it scores a very mediocre five out of ten stars from me.

What a waste of time. The acting is robotic and labored and the story has too many holes. It is never explained why things are happening and sub plots are left in limbo. Like the argument with the previous home owners whom are now zombies too. It also begs belief that her parents would not want to have the reasons for her return investigated by medical or even religious authority. If this is the only thing you have got to watch then I would suggest you just go for a walk instead. It would be a better way to spend the time. And through the whole movie, no one seems to discover the empty grave(s) which one would assume has a dirty great hole in the ground where she (and others) must have climbed out. It could have been a better movie, but I got the impression that it was made under some fairly tight time and budget constraints. It is barely a comedy and there certainly is no romance. 'Mystery' is a more appropriate genre.

In my opinion Dane DeHaan is an amazing actor. Even though I have vowed to never see a found footage movie again, I did struggle through the entirety of Chronicle which was to no one's surprise...a found footage quality movie.But then I saw DeHaan in Amazing Spiderman 2 where he successfully helped the audience understand why he is so angry and why he has reason to be a villain. So similarly, in this movie he conveys realism under surealistic situations.If zombies were real... this is how it would go down. I am trying to understand why I loved this movie but it all comes down to one fact. Real characters.I keep mentioning again and again how some movies kill off characters and sad music is playing and you are supposed to feel sad yet...you feel nothing at all. And all the Hans Zimmer in the world wont make you cry.But then, there are movies whose plot revolves around a robot with scissors for hands, or a kid that grows up after a wish, or a dude who lost his volleyball in the ocean.And this is a movie with real characters for whom you care. Realistic dialogue, awesome situations. Truly a one of a kind movie. Neither a horror nor a comedy flick...not even a romantic one.Just a story of how it would go down with a little bit of silliness in it.Beth's parents are in denial about their daughter which is only natural. Dehaan's reaction after finding out Beth is still alive and how he goes temporarily insane and re falls in love with her. How Beth loses touch with her humanity gradually and how a zombie uprising is about to occur are all awesome elements.I loved watching this movie. The cast is wonderful and Audrey Plaza earns my respect as someone who is not afraid of destroying her image. I have reached a point in my life where I am bored as hell of watching clichés and formulas. Every alien movie needs a "bomb" the mothership ending. Every possession movie needs a girl acting silly and talking in voices. Every zombie movie needs people barricading themselves in malls. Every disaster movie needs explosions and footage of the Aiffel tower and the Acropolis getting destroyed.Not Von Trier's Melancholia that had a different approach to destruction movies.Nor Jeff Baena's Life After Beth that had a different approach to zombie movies.If you want the same old sith,a typical zombie movie ...go for Land of the Dead [2005]. If you want a different approach...Life After Beth is excellent.I wish the audience was a little bit more supportive to movies like this.I know that a 9 score is reserved for super awesome movies that are classics and that will stand the test of time, with awesome acting, photography, story telling techniques, music and the whole package.Regardless, I am going to give this movie a 9 because I loved watching it and given the ridiculous material they had to work with (a dude in love with a zombie) they did an excellent job.