On the one hand, you could be a zombie. On the other hand, maybe just maybe you've been resurrected like Jesus. Is that really any better than being a zombie, you might ask? Well yes, actually. Because zombies weren't in the New Testament. Glad we cleared that up. Life After Beth is the latest in, what is fast becoming, a long line of zomromcoms. A horror sub-genre that refuses to die. Shaun of the Dead nailed it, Warm Bodies had lots to like, and Life After Beth proves - if nothing else - that there's plenty of life in death.
Zach (Dane Dehaan) is devastated by the unexpected loss of his girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza). But when she miraculously comes back to life, Zach takes full advantage of the opportunity to share and experience all the things he regretted not doing with her before. Like hiking up the mountain with an oven on your back, camping out in the attic and listening to some old-school smooth jazz. Zombie shit. For lack of a better phrase.
Dane DeHaan should stick to off-kilter movies like this, he really wasn't built for mainstream success. The rest of the cast is just as, if not more appealing. Aubrey Plaza is a breathe of fresh air as Beth (in a roundabout way), stealing every scene with her deadpan delivery and zombie like charm. Pretty sure that's never been used as a compliment before. John C. Reilly, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser and Molly Shannon offer up a heady dose of parental guidance, Matthew Gray Gubler provides brotherly support (in the form of whatever gun he can lay his hands on) and Anna Kendrick is pitch perfect as the girl in waiting.
A slow and deliberate set up makes way for mayhem and humour to spare; Jeff Baena (I Heart Huckabees) really shouldn't leave it so long next time. His first gig in the directors chair is charming, funny, off-the-rails and perfectly judged. If a zombie apocalypse did happen, it would probably go something like this.
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