Director: Joe Dante
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 89 min.
Director Joe Dante has deservedly been considered one of the most beloved directors in the horror genre, injecting his own charm and love for the medium into his movies, so it pains me to say his latest effort, Burying the Ex, is a misfire.
This zombie comedy about a girlfriend coming back from the dead feels like its coming to the game a bit too late to feel relevant, with so many other similar films like it already out there – My Boyfriend’s Back, Life After Beth and Clinger, just to name a few.
If you’ve seen Life After Beth, the narrative is very similar. Anton Yelchin plays Max, a dorky guy who is into classic horror movies who decides he’s had enough of his controlling girlfriend, Evelyn, played by Ashley Greene, and decides to break up with her. As fate would have it, he receives a mysterious trinket at his place of work that bonds her to him for all eternity, even after she is hit by a bus and killed.
The major problem in Burying the Ex has to do with the characters themselves. They’re all caricatures that have absolutely no depth whatsoever. Max’s half-brother, Travis, played by Oliver Cooper, is a womanizing horn-dog whose sole purpose on this planet appears to be acting as sleazy as possible, and Max’s new love interest, Olivia, played by Alexandra Daddario, is Max’s eye-rollingly perfect match. These sweeping generalizations of the characters cause the film to feel dull and predictable, bringing nothing new to the table.
Joe Dante frequently likes to inject classic monster movies and his love for cinematic history into his films, and this is no exception. The homages to classic horror films in Burying the Ex are mostly on the nose, like when Max and Olivia go to a cemetery screening of Night of the Living Dead. I’m always a sucker for this type of thing, but even I felt that I had seen this before.
The comedic elements in the film are hit or miss, as are the special effects. Cooper provides much of the comedic relief as Travis, but I found his character extremely grating, despite a fine performance from the actor.
It should be noted that all the performances were well done, which is one of the few positives I can give this movie. The make-up and blood effects are okay, but all the CG work looks rough. Thankfully it isn’t heavily used.
Even though there wasn’t much to latch onto in Burying the Ex, one thing Dante does consistently well is create a warm, hometown atmosphere within his films. From Max’s little horror store to Olivia’s quirky ice cream shop, Dante once again crafted a charming community where I would be perfectly happy living.
Maybe it’s because I’ve already seen so many films like this, but for me, Burying the Ex is just another stale zombie comedy that came a decade too late.
