Zach (Dan DeHaan) is in a terrible funky depression after his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) dies unexpectedly from a snakebite while hiking alone.   After Beth mysteriously comes back to life, Zach thinks this is his second chance with Beth as he starts to confront the facts that something is not quite right with her.  She starts to act violently and has a taste for human flesh with only slow jazz to calm her down and an unusual appreciation for attics.

 

LIFE AFTER BETH is a charming film about second chances as it is a romantic drama and a film about trying to deal with death (as Beth’s father Maury (John C. Reilly) tries to tell Zach on numerous times not to tell Beth that she died).   There are a few laughs, but I think it works better as a drama and WARM BODIES and SHAUN OF THE DEAD are better zombie comedies.  The drama moments connected more with me and dealing with the dead coming back also made LIFE AFTER BETH interesting to me.  Zach is in love with Beth, but I found Beth to be very annoying and Zach’s childhood friend to be sweeter than Beth could ever be.   Zach is in love with the idea of getting a second chance with her as Beth becomes more of an uncontrollable bitch as the zombie in her takes hold. Matthew Gray Gubler is a stand out as Zach’s anal security guard brother and it is nice to see Matt play a character so polar opposite the profiler he plays on CRIMINAL MINDS. 

 

LIFE AFTER BETH is about people who live in denial (Beth’s parents) as they can’t quite comprehend loss and people coming back and one who is willing to gloss over the strange things at first because he wants a second chance (Zach) while others (Zach’s parents) want him to move on from Beth.   I would say LIFE AFTER BETH works as a good alternative for those who might not be up to a full zombie movie as zombies are just a metaphor for loss, drama, and second chances.   Jeff Baena has crafted a good drama filmed like a drama and not a zombie film.   If you’re looking for all out zombie gore and attacks, you might be better served with George Romero films and THE WALKING DEAD TV series.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with writer/ director Jeff Baena, actress Aubrey Plaza, and actors Dane DeHaan and Matthew Gray Gubler

 

LIFE AFTER DEATH: THE POSTMORTEM- writer/ director Jeff Baena, actress Aubrey Plaza, actors Dane DeHaan and Matthew Gray Gubler, and Molly Shannon talk about how the movie came together and reflect back on the making of the movie

 

Eight deleted scenes which include moments with Zach’s former music band mates and five minutes of outtakes as they try to get a scene with Matthew Gray Gubler

 

Previews for other movies form LIONSGATE including WARM BODIES

 

A code to stream and download a digital HD Ultraviolet copy of the movie for TV, Computer, Smart phone, and tablet

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:   LIFE AFTER BETH is a heartfelt look at second chances and what happens when the one you love isn’t the same person as they become a zombie.

 

This review is ©10-26-2014 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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