After the title character (Aubrey Plaza) dies of a snakebite, her grief-stricken boyfriend (Dane DeHaan) and parents (Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly) are stunned to see her show up again, unharmed and unfazed, with no memory of what’s happened. The parents consider this a spiritual resurrection, the boyfriend suspects she’s a zombie, and unfortunately for us, they’re wrong and he’s right. Writer-director Jeff Baena collaborated with David O. Russell on the script for I Heart Huckabees (2004), a highly original comedy with a sharp philosophical bent; this story might have turned out the same way, but once it’s safely slotted in the overworked zom-com genre, there’s no reason to keep watching. With Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, and Anna Kendrick.
Life After Beth
R • 1 hour 29 min • 2014
