‘Boy meets girl. Girl eats boy.’
Life After Beth is a 2014 American zombie comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena on a $2.4 million budget. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Anna Kendrick, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, and John C. Reilly.
Plot teaser:
A hike alone in the woods ends tragically for Beth Slocum with a fatal snake bite. Her death leaves her parents and boyfriend Zach reeling. After the funeral, Zach tries to make friends with Mr. and Mrs. Slocum, but even they reject him, and he’s determined to figure out why. Then he sees Beth. Her parents are trying to keep her resurrection a secret, but zombie Beth provides Zach with the opportunity to do everything with her that he didn’t get to do while she was still alive. But with Beth’s increasingly erratic behavior and ever more strange occurrences around town, life with the undead Beth proves to be particularly complicated for her still-living loved ones…
Reviews:
“Life After Beth is in no way shape or form a game changer like Shaun of the Dead was in 2004, but it is a very refreshing take on the comedy horror genre that has gone stale. It takes everything the film Warm Bodies wanted to do and just does it better. There is more style in the cinematography, there is more chemistry amongst the actors, and there is more zing in the dialogue. Aubrey Plaza gives the performance of her career as she continues to become a force in the industry.” Cam the Man
“All in all, Life After Beth is an OK movie, and worth watching just for Plaza. Still, it’s not an especially clever film even if it is directed with a reasonable amount of style by Baena. Horror-comedy is a tough thing to pull off unless you’re John Landis or Edgar Wright. Obviously Beth can’t compare, but for what it is it’s not bad.” Arrow in the Head
“Life After Beth doesn’t really add much to a genre that has been stretched to the breaking point by its acceptance into mass culture. Zombies are soon due to fall out of favor with the public, and while Life After Beth doesn’t really nudge them toward the cliff, it doesn’t do a whole lot to keep them from falling either.” Den of Geek
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