After the death of his beloved girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza), Zach (Dane DeHaan) must learn to live life without the love of his life. However, one day, when visiting Beth’s parents, Zach realizes that the woman he believed to be dead is alive and well, but has no recollection of any of the events leading to her death. Life After Beth proves to be incredibly difficult when Beth is not the same as she was before her untimely demise. Zach and Beth’s parents, Maury (John C. Reilly) and Geenie (Molly Shannon), must determine what exactly happened to Beth and how to get everyone’s life back to normal.
Dane DeHaan is a fairly quiet, but incredibly talented actor who has made his name playing roles in astonishing films like Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Kill Your Darlings. He has played alongside huge Hollywood names such as Michael B. Jordan, Andrew Garfield and Daniel Radcliffe, bringing his talent to light. He always manages to play a semi-eccentric supporting character that not only excels in his role, but helps those around him look good as well. His role in Life After Beth is no different. Zach is an indie-rock loving loner (to some extent) who likes chess and hiking. Dehaan’s acting, as well as everyone else’s in the film, is brilliantly average. While the acting is, by no means, bad, the level of acting I’ve come to expect from actors like Reilly and DeHaan was not present. Again, the acting is not bad, but typically seeing these actors exceed in other roles caused a bit of disappointment by Life After Beth. I feel obliged to comment, however, on the acting of Matthew Gray Gubler (Kyle), as I would be remiss to leave out the fact that he is, by far, the most entertaining individual in the film.
The story itself is unique in the sense that unlike any other zombie film I’ve seen in the past Life After Beth makes connections between the zombies present in the film to the spiritual roots of some of the characters and explores the slow, grueling process of becoming fully zombified. Writer-director Jeff Baena does, unfortunately, fall back into the same pattern that most films in this subgenre do. He ultimately fails to separate his film for the hoards of others that already exist. Failing to create something truly original is somewhat of a red flag, and makes it more difficult for audiences to appreciate the work put into the film.
The silliness of the film adds a nice dimension, but, again, it has been done with films like Zombieland and Warm Bodies, making Life After Beth feel too repetitive. The horror/comedy zombie film is something that is becoming more and more popular, and I can appreciate the fact that films like this are a viable way to make some cash and draw fans in, but I want something more. I want writers and directors to expand and make something memorable, but Baena doesn’t come close to this. In a week I’ll lose parts of Life After Beth’s story and further down the road I’ll forget that it even exists. This film is for those who want a nonsensical horror/comedy with little to no effort required to understand the story or any of its content. Sometimes a film like this is necessary; but, if you are truly looking for a good time, look elsewhere.
Written & Directed by Jeff Baena. Starring Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Matthew Gray Gubler, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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