The film looks as though it could deliver, but unfortunately falls short.
Life After Beth is the latest ‘Zom-Com’ to hit our screens. Zach (Dane DeHaan) is devastated and depressed at the death of his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) and doesn’t know what to do with his life. He quickly befriends his late girlfriend’s parents and discovers that Beth is still alive and living in hiding in their home. After a few days, he realises Beth isn’t quite the same and is changing rapidly into something else.
On paper, Life After Beth looks like it could be a fairly quirky and funny film that takes a new approach to zombies in film. Unfortunately, the film is totally bland; this comedy horror fails in both aspects. It is disappointing because most of the performances are good; Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza work well enough together and although Matthew Grey Gubler is terribly miscast, he does the best he can with his role. Anna Kendrick is given the worst role ever in this; her character appears on-screen for five minutes and is basically useless – it’s difficult to figure out why she is in this at all. It’s worrying to think that she is a very talented actress but will forever be typecast in these dumb teenager roles.
The plot here is pretty straight forward but the tone of the film is all over the place; there are moments where you really aren’t sure if you’re supposed to laugh or feel emotional – so you end up doing neither. Characters take unexpected turns that seem out of place, such as John C. Reilly who plays Beth’s father. He becomes almost villainous at the end and there is no real explanation as to why this is.
The ending is the better part of the film, the end to the story is fairly clever and even a little bit funny. One good thing about Life After Beth is the conversations between Zach and his older brother, they provide what little comedy there is to this film.
Overall, it is quite impressive that a movie about a boy still in love with his zombie girlfriend can turn out bland and boring. This film manages to make you feel nothing. There are a few giggles dotted throughout the film, but nothing remotely memorable. Ultimately, Life After Beth is simply forgettable.
Verdict
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