Life After Beth (2014)

A young man's recently deceased girlfriend mysteriously returns from the dead, but he slowly realizes she is not the way he remembered her.

Director:

Jeff Baena

Writer:

Jeff Baena

Stars:

Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aubrey Plaza	...	Beth Slocum
Dane DeHaan	...	Zach Orfman
John C. Reilly	...	Maury Slocum
Molly Shannon	...	Geenie Slocum
Cheryl Hines	...	Judy Orfman
Paul Reiser	...	Noah Orfman
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Kyle Orfman
Anna Kendrick	...	Erica Wexler
Eva La Dare	...	Pearline
Thomas McDonell	...	Dan (scenes deleted)
Alia Shawkat	...	Roz (scenes deleted)
Allan McLeod	...	Supermarket Stocker
Paul Weitz	...	Mr. Levin
Michelle Azar	...	Mrs. Levin
Jim O'Heir	...	Chip the Mailman

Storyline

A hike alone in the woods ends tragically for Beth Slocum with a fatal snake bite. Her death leaves her parents and boyfriend Zach reeling. After the funeral, Zach tries to make friends with Mr. and Mrs. Slocum, but even they reject him, and he's determined to figure out why. Then he sees Beth. Her parents are trying to keep her resurrection a secret, but zombie Beth provides Zach with the opportunity to do everything with her that he didn't get to do while she was still alive. But with Beth's increasingly erratic behavior and even more strange occurrences around town, life with the undead Beth proves to be particularly complicated for her still-living loved ones.

---

Plot Keywords:

reunion | death of girlfriend | loss of girlfriend | male male hug | name in title | 

---

Taglines:

Some girls just want to watch the world burn.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some horror violence, sexual content, nudity and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor zombie (Life after Beth)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,843, 15 August 2014

Gross USA:

$80,315

Company Credits

Production Co:

Abbolita Productions, American Zoetrope, Destro Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aubrey Plaza later appears in Matthew Gray Gubler's television series, Criminal Minds (2005-). Plaza appears as Cat Adams, in two episodes of the crime drama with Gubler.

---

Goofs

(at around 5 mins) When Zach and Maury are playing a game of chess, the black square is in the bottom right corner when it should be the white square.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Supermarket Stocker: Can I help you find something, sir?
Zach Orfman: Yeah, do you have any black napkins. I've been looking all over.
Supermarket Stocker: Black napkins... I don't think so. If you don't like white, this is a beige one
Zach Orfman: They have to be black.
Supermarket Stocker: That's more of a Halloween item. You might want to try a party store.
Zach Orfman: [gives a slow, incredulous look]

---

Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.123 (2014)

---

Soundtracks

For Karin
Composed by Philippe Bestion and Michel Gaucher
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Unique zombie movie.

In my opinion Dane DeHaan is an amazing actor. Even though I have vowed to never see a found footage movie again, I did struggle through the entirety of Chronicle which was to no one's surprise...a found footage quality movie.

But then I saw DeHaan in Amazing Spiderman 2 where he successfully helped the audience understand why he is so angry and why he has reason to be a villain. So similarly, in this movie he conveys realism under surealistic situations.

If zombies were real... this is how it would go down. I am trying to understand why I loved this movie but it all comes down to one fact. Real characters.

I keep mentioning again and again how some movies kill off characters and sad music is playing and you are supposed to feel sad yet...you feel nothing at all. And all the Hans Zimmer in the world wont make you cry.

But then, there are movies whose plot revolves around a robot with scissors for hands, or a kid that grows up after a wish, or a dude who lost his volleyball in the ocean.

And this is a movie with real characters for whom you care. Realistic dialogue, awesome situations. Truly a one of a kind movie. Neither a horror nor a comedy flick...not even a romantic one.

Just a story of how it would go down with a little bit of silliness in it.

Beth's parents are in denial about their daughter which is only natural. Dehaan's reaction after finding out Beth is still alive and how he goes temporarily insane and re falls in love with her. How Beth loses touch with her humanity gradually and how a zombie uprising is about to occur are all awesome elements.

I loved watching this movie. The cast is wonderful and Audrey Plaza earns my respect as someone who is not afraid of destroying her image.

I have reached a point in my life where I am bored as hell of watching clichés and formulas. Every alien movie needs a "bomb" the mothership ending. Every possession movie needs a girl acting silly and talking in voices. Every zombie movie needs people barricading themselves in malls. Every disaster movie needs explosions and footage of the Aiffel tower and the Acropolis getting destroyed.

Not Von Trier's Melancholia that had a different approach to destruction movies.

Nor Jeff Baena's Life After Beth that had a different approach to zombie movies.

If you want the same old sith,a typical zombie movie ...go for Land of the Dead [2005]. If you want a different approach...Life After Beth is excellent.

I wish the audience was a little bit more supportive to movies like this.

I know that a 9 score is reserved for super awesome movies that are classics and that will stand the test of time, with awesome acting, photography, story telling techniques, music and the whole package.

Regardless, I am going to give this movie a 9 because I loved watching it and given the ridiculous material they had to work with (a dude in love with a zombie) they did an excellent job.