Not only did 2004’s Shaun of the Dead essentially define the zombie romantic comedy, or zom-rom-com, sub-genre, but it also then left a gaping hole behind it for film-makers of the living dead to fill with their own twist on the formula. Unfortunately, since then, the turn-over for zombie comedies with a romantic twist has remained more or less the same as before, which is almost non-existent. There was Zombieland in 2009, with its romantic sub-plot providing much of the personal drama and characterization of the film, but that was a movie hinged on the idea of riffing on any/every zombie cliché that is safe for regular human consumption. Then Warm Bodies, which came out last year, took the idea and took it to a logical extreme, making the romance between human and zombie post-humous and watching the hilarity that ensues. Warm Bodies was good, but didn’t quite scratch the kind of itch Shaun of the Dead left behind. Finally, with Life After Beth from writer/director Jeff Baena, we have a film that is very directly attempting to fill that empty grave and, with a stellar cast in tow, mostly succeeds. Mostly.
Much like Shaun is a very British comedy at its core, Beth is as comparatively American in its execution. Replacing the middle-age monotony with late-teen love, Beth opens with Zach (Dane DeHaan, Amazing Spider-Man 2) mourning the loss of his girlfriend, the titular Beth (Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation). Through hanging out with his dead partner’s parents, played by John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon, he begins to find closure, despite his suitably mis-understanding older brother and parents. But all is not right, and soon he begins to glimpse Beth in her family household, and soon he finds out that she has, in fact, come back from the dead. Cue her family wanting to keep her a secret and enjoy having their daughter back, and Zach wanting to play along to have his girlfriend back.
Throughout this first act, there’s a very steady diet of both drama and comedy that shows the rhythm that the film will hold throughout its 90 minutes, maintaining a flip-flop between subtle and subdued talking points to outright hysterics as disaster beings to strike. Playing very heavily off Zach and Beth’s rekindled love, there’s a well-placed reliance on her slow degradation into a flesh eater and his attempts to be sensible and straight-thinking while trying to ignore the fact he’s dating a ghoul in training. On more than a few occasions, the laughs come hard and fast as Dane goes from quiet and constrained to full-blown frenzy as he plays against John C. Reilly’s coolly delivered fatherly love while it becomes obvious that Beth’s next meal could be any of their flesh.
Where Life After Beth is most interesting, though, is how the zombie apocalypse manifests itself. Instead of having a sudden jolt of explosive disaster, doom comes slowly to drown the inhabitants as little incidents start happening. The Postman begins stuffing everyone’s mail any which place, and a diner chef starts throwing a feral tantrum in the kitchen of his workplace. They degrade the same way Beth degrades and it gives an interesting perspective on how the shambling bodies of the dead would take over. Its in this same interesting idea, though, that the film’s greatest weakness
comes to the fore – too much reliance on the comedy rather than the horror.
There’s an incredibly scary film here that just isn’t allowed to be humored enough on-screen. The slow-burn of the overall narrative and the idea of people watching their loved one’s die twice makes for some hilarious scenes, but after every laugh I found myself waiting for a scare, a reminder of the horror in horror-comedy, and there was significantly less pay-off in that regard. It gives Life After Beth a slightly restrained air in the second half that takes the wind out of the sails somewhat, and leaves one feeling a little under-whelmed.
That said, though, Beth is one of the best horror-related films of the year so far, and features a great cast who turn in some incredibly memorable performances. Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza are excellent as the star-crossed lovers, leading each scene and maintaining the flow of the film with ease. At just the right length and with the laugh counter on high, you’d be well served putting Life After Beth into your Halloween celebrations.
Hard on the comedy, easy on the horror zombie romp. 8/10
