Star Rating:

Life After Beth

Director: Jeff Baena

Actors: Dane DeHaan, Aubrey Plaza

Release Date: Friday 3rd October 2014

Genre(s): Factual, Horror

Running time: 88 minutes

Kicking off with the death of its title character, we find out that Beth (Aubrey Plaza) has been killed by a snake bite, leaving her parents (John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon) and boyfriend Zach (Dane DeHaan) in mourning. When she suddenly appears back home a few days later, having apparently dug herself out of her own grave, her parents decide not to tell her that she had ever died. Meanwhile, Zach decides to use this as a second-chance to right all the wrongs and say all the things he never had a chance to say the first time around, but Beth doesn't seem to exactly be the same person she was pre-death, as she's now super-strong and has an insatiable lust for flesh.

Featuring the best ensemble comedic cast since Scott Pilgrim - as well as all the aforementioned, there's also Paul Reiser, Cheryl Hines, Matthew Gray Gubler and Anna Kendrick rounding out the supporting roles - and the directorial debut from the writer of I Heart Huckabees, signs pointed to a fresh new voice for funny movies. There's also the fact that all good zombie movies come equipped with a great metaphor, and here it's the prickly matter of previously-not-all-that-great loved ones instantaneously put up on a pedestal once they pass away, and again, things are packed out with potential.

Unfortunately all the potential is squandered in a movie that has no idea what to do with it. Despite the game cast, especially Plaza who goes hell-for-leather as the slowly decomposing love interest, writer/director Jeff Baena hasn't the faintest clue what to do with them, other than push record on the camera on hope they inject some life into his DOA screenplay. Some new additions to zombie lore - they love smooth jazz, feel most at home in the attic, etc. - are interesting, but amount to little more than window dressing.

There are a few chuckles to be found, mostly down to the actors alchemizing dud dialogue into gold, and the opening scenes of morbid fascination as the recently bereaved can't quite figure out how the rest of the world can continue as if nothing happened is remarkably on point. Aside from that, Life After Beth just brainlessly shuffles from one scene to the next, a zom-rom-com-dram in search of meaning, and aside from watching talented cast having a good time on set, it's unlikely you'll find one.