Life After Beth (2014)

This is a horror comedy. Except, it's not. People who expect the usual mix of jump scares and laughs from this movie end up most disappointed. It's a love story with zombies. But not a happy one like Warm Bodies. Much more sad and dramatic. And humor is much more dry and subtle. Unfortunately, people who sit down to watch a zombie comedy do not really expect subtle. And people who want subtle do not look into zombie comedies. This is why this little gem is one of the most underrated movies on IMDB. Watch it without expectations and you might enjoy it much more.

Fmovies: Just to save you the trouble, this movie is absolute garbage, not scary, not comedic, nothing, it's about a girl that comes back from the dead, and then she isn't the same girl, that's it, Basically, around the 60 minute mark, I was extremely bored, the only reason that I didn't go back home is because I was watching this with my family and it would have been inappropriate to leave them, I didn't give this is a 1 because I have seen much more boring and crappy movies, so a 2 is good enough, the acting was decent but not as great as my expectations were, If I were you, I would much rather buy some ice cream instead of the ticket price, this was less boring compared to a documentary about how snakes live, save yourself money and boredom and don't watch this.

Ah, the zombie genre...Is there still anything we haven't seen before? Life after Beth takes a swing at the RomZomCom sub-genre but it biggest problem is that it isn't really anything. I suppose it's meant to be funny but there's nothing really funny about it. It isn't dramatic either or dark or creepy or anything. The trailer didn't seem to bad (and looked rather funny, reminded me a bit of Fido) but the writers don't seem to know what to do with the idea (a girl dies and returns as a zombie but doesn't know it and everyone's trying to keep it a secret). It won't be a big success because it doesn't appeal to anyone in particular and won't be remembered as a classic or even a great addition to the zombie genre.

Life After Beth fmovies. I have no idea how the ratings aren't higher. Dane DeHaan is amazing as always. The comedy is dry and quirky. It definitely fits the dark comedy genre. A ridiculous, sweet, and surprising zombie movie.

Life After Beth is a movie as confused as its main protagonist Zach Orfman, a movie that can't decide whether it's a laugh out loud comedy, a gross out dramedy or satirical runoff of the ever saturated zombie filled marketplace and as a result of its genre confusion, Life After Beth is a basket case of a film that at times becomes so bad you feel sorry for all the talented members of the cast who obviously saw some potential in this tale.

Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon and Anna Kendrick, it's a competent cast, Reilly alone is always a fine big screen presence and DeHaan has over a few short years shown himself to be one of the finest up and coming actors in the business, but no one here comes out on top. DeHaan is annoying as grieving boyfriend Zach, Reilly and Shannon get short changed with one note characters and the toughest gig of all in the form of Beth played by Plaza couldn't have been saved by any amount of great acting. Beth is such a strange and unfulfilling character you begin to pity Plaza's plight and it's safe to say she gives it her all in a committed performance that deserved a better movie.

A huge chunk of Life After Beth's failings can be attributed to director/writer Jeff Baena's failings to control the films tonal shifts. At any one moment we will be asked to feel sympathy for lost loves then the next moment something crazy will happen that either feels totally out of place or just downright lame. The script fails to zing, the pacing feels off and the overall product that has been placed into completion feels far too close to a student movie than one would care to see. It's a real shame that there are so many failings in this picture as you do get the feeling that there is a good film here, somewhere deep down amongst all the wannabe funnies or the romantic sentiments that don't resonate.

Life After Beth is a strange event, from the outset you get the feeling something just isn't right and as you get further and further into this murky love story your vision becomes clear that this is just a lost film that didn't have a solid enough identity to make it succeed. There are some fine actors in here but they're lost in a short running time that feels much longer than it is due to a lack of any sort of audience engagement. A real non-event, Life After Beth is an out and out misfire.

1 oven out of 5

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In my opinion Dane DeHaan is an amazing actor. Even though I have vowed to never see a found footage movie again, I did struggle through the entirety of Chronicle which was to no one's surprise...a found footage quality movie.

But then I saw DeHaan in Amazing Spiderman 2 where he successfully helped the audience understand why he is so angry and why he has reason to be a villain. So similarly, in this movie he conveys realism under surealistic situations.

If zombies were real... this is how it would go down. I am trying to understand why I loved this movie but it all comes down to one fact. Real characters.

I keep mentioning again and again how some movies kill off characters and sad music is playing and you are supposed to feel sad yet...you feel nothing at all. And all the Hans Zimmer in the world wont make you cry.

But then, there are movies whose plot revolves around a robot with scissors for hands, or a kid that grows up after a wish, or a dude who lost his volleyball in the ocean.

And this is a movie with real characters for whom you care. Realistic dialogue, awesome situations. Truly a one of a kind movie. Neither a horror nor a comedy flick...not even a romantic one.

Just a story of how it would go down with a little bit of silliness in it.

Beth's parents are in denial about their daughter which is only natural. Dehaan's reaction after finding out Beth is still alive and how he goes temporarily insane and re falls in love with her. How Beth loses touch with her humanity gradually and how a zombie uprising is about to occur are all awesome elements.

I loved watching this movie. The cast is wonderful and Audrey Plaza earns my respect as someone who is not afraid of destroying her image.

I have reached a point in my life where I am bored as hell of watching clichés and formulas. Every alien movie needs a "bomb" the mothership ending. Every possession movie needs a girl acting silly and talking in voices. Every zombie movie needs people barricading themselves in malls. Every disaster movie needs explosions and footage of the Aiffel tower and the Acropolis getting destroyed.

Not Von Trier's Melancholia that had a different approach to destruction movies.

Nor Jeff Baena's Life After Beth that had a different approach to zombie movies.

If you want the same old sith,a typical zombie movie ...go for Land of the Dead [2005]. If you want a different approach...Life After Beth is excellent.

I wish the audience was a little bit more supportive to movies like this.

I know that a 9 score is reserved for super awesome movies that are classics and that will stand the test of time, with awesome acting, photography, story telling techniques, music and the whole package.

Regardless, I am going to give this movie a 9 because I loved watching it and given the ridiculous material they had to work with (a dude in love with a zombie) they did an excellent job.