Life After Beth | 2014
Life After Beth is a 2014 American zombie comedy film directed and written by Jeff Baena. It stars Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, and John C. Reilly. The film was first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014, and had a limited release on August 15, 2014. It is also the final film appearance of Gary Marshall, who passed away in 2016.
The film begins with Zach Orfman, who is devastated by the death of his girlfriend, Beth Slocum, after she is bitten by a snake. Zach confesses to Beth's parents, Genie and Maury, that there were issues in their relationship, but Maury advises him not to let this define their relationship. One day, when Beth's parents suddenly stop contacting Zach, he visits her house and sees Beth through the window. He tries to enter the house, but Beth's brother, Kyle, who works as a sheriff, chases him away. When Zach returns home, he insists that Beth is alive, but her parents are concerned. Later, Zach secretly enters the house and discovers that Beth is being hidden by her parents. After a heated argument, Zach leaves the house. The next day, Zach visits Beth's grave and finds a large hole in it. He encounters Beth's parents again and learns that Beth has mysteriously come back to life. Beth's parents try to keep her at home during the day and avoid telling her that she has died.
Zach begins secretly meeting with Beth again, taking her on dates at a park, where blisters appear on her face. Maury insists that Zach stop seeing Beth, but Zach continues to meet her. Over time, Beth becomes increasingly violent and emotionally unstable. Zach notices that others in town are behaving oddly and becoming physically stronger than they were before their deaths. Zach and his friend Erica go to a diner, where Beth accidentally hits Zach with a car. Some people try to help Beth, but she screams at them to leave. Later, Beth gets into a violent confrontation with Erica, thinking Zach is cheating on her. Zach takes Beth to her grave to remind her that she is dead, and he tries to break up with her, but Beth becomes enraged and drives away. When Zach returns home, he learns that his grandfather has also come back to life after dying.
Maury insists that Zach lie to Beth and promise to stay with her forever. Zach reluctantly agrees and tries to take Beth away in his car, but Maury follows them, knocks Zach unconscious, and takes Beth back to their home. When Zach regains consciousness and returns to their house, he finds strangers inside, and the backyard is filled with burned bodies. He believes his family is dead and prepares to leave town, but changes his mind and returns to the Slocum house. There, he finds the house in disarray and discovers that Beth has fully turned into a zombie, eating part of Maury and Genie's fingers. Zach helps Genie escape and comforts Beth, promising to go hiking with her. They meet Kyle, who is hunting zombies and says their parents have survived and are safe. Kyle gives Zach a gun, urging him to kill Beth. Zach and Beth reach a cliff, where Zach apologizes for the things they didn’t do together while she was alive and confesses his love for her. Ultimately, Zach shoots Beth in the head, ending her life once again.
Zach reunites with his family at a safe place, comforted by Erica, who assures him they found the family. They plan to leave town, but suddenly the power is restored, and the news reports that everything has returned to normal. Later, Zach visits the graves of Beth and Maury, placing Beth's scarf and Maury's chess piece on their gravestones. His mother arrives to take him, and Erica joins him in the car. Zach invites Erica to dinner, and she smiles as they drive off.
Life After Beth received mixed reviews. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 45% rating based on 98 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10. The site's consensus states, "Despite Aubrey Plaza's committed performance, Life After Beth remains an uncomfortable sketch that feels stretched too thin." On Metacritic, it scored 50/100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Positive reviews included Mark Kermode from The Guardian, who praised the film for focusing on genuine grotesquery rather than cheap laughs. He noted that Aubrey Plaza's performance was outstanding, with her portrayal of Beth as a mix of a cynical teenager and a decaying, uncontrollable monster. Richard Corliss from Time also gave a positive review, commending Plaza’s portrayal of Beth’s gradual transformation into an entirely demonized, mad state.
Negative reviews included Brian Eggert from Deep Focus Review, who acknowledged the film’s potential allegorical themes about loss and toxic relationships but criticized the central idea of a "romance with a zombie" as being implausible and difficult to engage with, despite the film's charm and humor.
