Phil Nolan At first I thought this was interesting, then strange, then really funny, then finally heart warming.

aech-02177 A24 is an amazing film company that has released some of the best indie films in years, but they don't always stick the landing. Such is the case for Life After Beth. Zach (Dane DeHaan) is heartbroken after his girlfriend Beth (the lovely Aubrey Plaza) dies as the result of a snake bite. Some time later, she has inexplicably come back to life, and her parents (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) are trying to hide her from the outside world. As Zach tries to do everything he didn't do when Beth was still "alive", he notices that she has become more irritable, hyperactive and even more possessive of him. Could she be a zombie? Life After Beth tries to be a romantic comedy and a zombie horror flick and fails at both. The writing is bland, with a premise that at first seems like a good opportunity to be a deconstruction of the zombie movie flick, but it wears off quickly. The characters are beyond annoying. There is always two, three or more people yelling at each other about something. The film never thinks to slow down or take a break. I didn't laugh once. I don't think the movie even tried to be funny, and it just got more depressing as it went on. The acting is passable, but it is Aubrey Plaza who stands out the most. You can tell she believed in this story, and her manic energy was what kept me watching. In the end, Life After Beth just didn't do it for me, and at this point the zombie genre is barely breathing.

TdSmth5 Some kid is depressed. It takes this movie a while to bother telling us what the hell is going on. Turns out his girlfriend died from a snakebite while hiking. The kid gets along with the girl's parents and spends his time at their place. After he doesn't get a call from them for a couple of days he decides to stop by at their place and finds the girl, Beth, inside. He barges in and she just receives him as if nothing had happened. He visits her tomb and sure enough the hole is dug up and empty. Her parents won't let her leave anywhere. Eventually the guy escapes with her at night and takes her to the beach where she turns violent for no reason. She develops some ugly rash on her face. She becomes more and more violent.Eventually there's an outbreak of zombies and some guys start taking them out. Of course our guy keeps going back to Beth again and again and again pretending she's just normal. Eventually he finally realizes he has to take action.Yes, Life After Beth is different and somewhat original. But a movie can be different in good ways and bad ways, and there's really nothing good about this one. I guess it's supposed to be a romantic horror comedy or some such nonsense using/abusing the zombie genre as is apparently obligatory in Hollywood these days. It's not romantic, not funny, not scary. Whatever deep thoughts the writer and director claimed to have had as inspiration (Blake and Derrida) it sure doesn't come across at all in the final product. Life of Beth was a waste of resources and energy by the crew. And to think that countless good scripts get no chance. This movie is also a waste of time for the viewer unless you like watching pointless movies with lots of hysteric screaming.

bjhmelton What a waste of time. The acting is robotic and labored and the story has too many holes. It is never explained why things are happening and sub plots are left in limbo. Like the argument with the previous home owners whom are now zombies too. It also begs belief that her parents would not want to have the reasons for her return investigated by medical or even religious authority. If this is the only thing you have got to watch then I would suggest you just go for a walk instead. It would be a better way to spend the time. And through the whole movie, no one seems to discover the empty grave(s) which one would assume has a dirty great hole in the ground where she (and others) must have climbed out. It could have been a better movie, but I got the impression that it was made under some fairly tight time and budget constraints. It is barely a comedy and there certainly is no romance. 'Mystery' is a more appropriate genre.