Back from the dead, sort of

 
FILM REVIEW
Title: Life Of Beth
Director: Jeff Baena
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, John C Reilly, Molly Shannon, Dave DeHaan
Verdict: ★ ★ ★

By Katrina Tauro

Jeff Baena’s (I ♥ Huckabees) feature debut, Life Of Beth tackles the very odd sub-genre of zombie comedy, or zom-com as it is has become known.

Although the plot shows a lot of promise, as well featuring as a cast of seasoned and up-and-coming actors, the film never quite gets off the ground, reminding us just how weird is the mash up of the two seemingly unrelated film genres.

Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) plays Beth Slocum, a teenage girl who dies from a snakebite, only to mysteriously return from the dead days later.

This is much to the surprise of her parents (John. C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) and her mourning boyfriend Zach Orfman (Dane DeHaan), with whom her relationship had hit a rough patch before her untimely death.

Taking solace by spending copious amounts of time with Beth’s parents after her death, Zach is clearly very torn up.

Things take a positive turn for Zach when he realises that Beth does not recall anything from that previous week, including her negative feelings towards him and their relationship issues.

Realising he gets to do things over, Zach makes the most of his second chance at love. Eventually things start to get strange as Beth’s behaviour becomes borderline obsessive and Beth herself starts to become aggressive. From this point on, the destination of the film seems uncertain.

Baena focuses on the importance of the film’s central relationship, playing on love, loss and grief, while throwing in a few zombie apocalypse gags, but in doing so neglects many of the other characters, such as Zach’s parents, who have a barely there role in the film.

Certainly more screen time could have been given to Zach’s brother Kyle (Matthew Gray Gubler), who is responsible for many of the funnier lines in the film, as well as for the ever quirky Anna Kendrick, who has a very minor role.

The film starts off as a dark comedy with a tinge of horror, but by the end, it's a horror movie that’s digging a bit too deep for laughs.

Although DeHaan gets quite a lot of screen time, he doesn’t have much of a character to play, as opposed to his roles in The Amazing Spiderman 2 and Kill Your Darlings.

Baena, however, made a great decision in casting Plaza as Beth, and her navigation from sweet girl in a sundress to the lovable misanthrope she usually plays is very well done. Plaza is both adorable and terrifying at the same time.

With more direction, Life After Beth definitely could’ve been improved, although Baena does deserve some admiration for tackling such a complicated genre.

It will surely draw some comparison to Edgar Wright’s Shaun Of The Dead and, in all fairness, it is one of the best additions to the category as of late, although there isn’t a lot of competition.

Originally set for release in 2003, in hindsight Baena should not have delayed: it would have been one of the first films of its kind, rather than what looks like attempt to revive a struggling sub-genre.