'Life After Beth' - Review

Ten years on from the release of Shaun of the Dead, it’s very easy to see why so few movies since have tried to re-use the ‘Rom-Zom-Com’ formula, and those that have had very little lasting effect. The latest to attempt a successful follow-up to the 2004 classic is Jeff Baenas Life After Beth. Teenager Zach (Dane Dehaan) is mourning over the sudden death of his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) when she re-appears with no memory of her passing. While at first she  and everyone besides Zach appears unfazed by the incident, Beth begins to act strangely and develops a craving for flesh other than her boyfriends.

At the risk of making too many comparisons to Shaun of the Dead (and if I mention it more than necessary in this review feel free to set rabid zombies on me), I think it would be fair to say that Life After Beth is probably the film that falls closest to the mark. It feels like a story built entirely from that one line in Shaun when our hero says ‘I don’t think I’ve got it in me to shoot my flatmate, my mum and my girlfriend all in the same night’. But whilst Shaun aimed at an emotional tangent amongst the laughs, Beth goes entirely for farcical comedy.

One of the more interesting elements of the film is the inclusion of Dane Dehaan, who physically has always had a rather creepy side to him which was played with to full effect in Chronicle and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This time however, he’s used as the ‘ordinary’ person at the heart of the story as everything around him goes completely mad, and as the straight man to the bizarre events he is incredibly effective. Aubrey Plaza is cackle-inducingly funny as Beth, her raw sarcastic air a terrific fit for her predicament; ‘What do you want from me Zach, I’m a zombie?’ she screams whilst in pursuit of a living meal whilst her devoted boyfriend looks on in confusion and fear.

The supporting cast are a lot of fun too. John C. Reilly as Beth’s over-protective father is enjoyable in his belief that his daughter’s resurrection was an act of God, while Matthew Gray Gubler as Zach’s zealous cop with a hard-on for handguns provides many of the biggest laughs. Anna Kendrick too adds a heightened level of straight-faced bemusement as a ditzy friend-of-the-family character that falls prey to one of Beth’s outbursts.

Whilst there is a noticeable lack of laughter within the first ten minutes as the story finds its feet, the string of gallows humour that runs rampant throughout is fantastically enjoyable. Once the laughs start, the film beings to feel like an out-of-control downhill sprint that goes completely mad and has a great deal of fun doing so. While this leads to the last few minutes feeling utterly all over the place, one forgives it completely because there are things within the finale that are incredibly funny.

Without the instant quotable charm of Shaun of the Dead but providing enough laughter and self-awareness to raise it above many contemporary comedies, Life After Beth is a blood splattered gem that will pass you by in a flash but is well worth a tentative peek from behind zombie-proof, boarded up windows.

3.5 stars