Enterrando a la ex

The Plot.

When Max (Yelchin) learns that his new live-in girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene) is controlling and manipulative, he is afraid to end the relationship.

However, fate occurs and Evelyn is killed in a freak accident.

A couple months have passed and Max meets his dream girl, Olivia (Daddario).

The new romance gets tricky when Evelyn comes back from the grave and insists on continuing their once relationship by all means.

This is NOT a train wreck in the slightest. It's easy to watch and entertaining. Not really sure why Dante never caught fire after the Gremlins. Maybe it's because his style is more suited for TV. Who knows?

This film was a good surprise. If you are a fan of really bad B horror/sci fi films like I am and like Dante is, you'll get a bonus by watching this movie.

Too be sure, it's a small film with a limited budget, but you can do a lot worse.

"Burying the Ex" is the soon to be released flick from director Joe Dante, who brought us the '80s classics "Gremlins" and "The Howling." This time around, we follow horror-movie-loving Max (Anton Yelchin, ie. Checkov from the "Star Trek" reboot series, but without the Russian accent), struggling to rise above the manipulative people in his life. He's working in a dead-end job in a kitschy Halloween curio shop with a demanding boss; living with his controlling girlfriend Evelyn (Ashley Greene from "Twilight"); and dealing with his brother (I mean half-brother, a running gag) Travis (Oliver Cooper from "The Hangover III") who really just needs Max's apartment as a destination to take his booty-calls to.

An odd little statue arrives at the shop that promises to grant a wish… but because it's a "Satan-Genie" (and according to a tag attached)– it has to be granted the "evil way." Cut to the "Satan-Genie" being within earshot of a post-coital promise made between Max and Evelyn: "We will always be together… always and forever"… and the "evil-way" is set in motion.

Max's relationship with Evelyn continues to deteriorate. Evelyn freaks out at a friendly ice cream shop owner named Olivia (played by the comely Alexandra Daddario from True Detective); turns their apartment into a "green, eco-friendly zone" … and relegates (read: jams) his expensive horror movie posters into a drawer… At his wits end, Max takes the advise of brother (half-brother) Travis, and invites her to a public place to break up with her. Max chooses a dog park, which leads Evelyn to believe he has gotten her a dog, and in her enthusiasm, rushes out to meet him and is killed by a bus.

You can guess what follows. Evelyn returns from the grave, hell-bent on rekindling their relationship, and determined to keep Max away from the very-alive ice cream owner, Olivia. And she has a plan to make good on their promise to "always be together… always and forever" that Max is not too keen on.

There are some genuinely funny moments, and director Joe Dante is in great form, but comparisons to the Jeff Baena film "Life After Beth", released last year, are inevitable. Both movies involve girlfriends coming back from the grave to despondent boyfriends who have all kinds of regrets after their deaths; both girlfriends are adamant in reviving their "dead" relationships (and deflecting any interest from any potential "living" girlfriends), all the while slowly deteriorating physically and mentally into zombie-ness (and rage). And according to both films, returning from the grave makes girls super-strong and really horny.

Those are the plot similarities. Burying the Ex is a really fun movie with great directing, photography, physical special effects and outstanding acting that illustrates Dante's pedigree, delivering a far more polished film than Life After Beth. Don't let seeing Beth dissuade you from checking out Burying the Ex. It's a fun watch for those wanting to expand their zombie movie horizons.

Embracing the corny B-movie allure, Burying the Ex takes advantage of its modest yet mildly fun concept. It produces decent comedy with pop reference, fitting acting and smart script. The movie is still stuttering with odd plot development, but all things considered it's a fun popcorn flick worthy of a few giggles.

Max (Anton Yelchin) has been bothered by his shifty relationship with Evelyn (Ashley Greene). Theire personalities almost always clash, not to mention Evelyn can be incredibly volatile. Things get worse as a shady curse of some sort bind them both forever, this includes afterlife. After a tragic accident Evelyn rises from the death to fulfill her eternal love. The premise is by all means average romcom, but it is delivered with adequate conviction and wit.

Ashley Greene fully welcomes the quirky role. She's equally obnoxious as living eco-obsessed girlfriend and a creepy zombie lady. The change of tone and behavior is done realistic enough, despite the exaggerated set-up, to ensure their situation is oddly identifiable. The cast isn't large, only four main characters, and it keeps the pacing moving relatively well.

The script is done with tongue-in-cheek approach. Dialogues are occasionally cringeworthy, though most of the times they contain enough modern pop references or silly puns, audience can't help but laughing at them. Plot can be shady and a bit forced, but if audience can overlook some of these obscurities, there's mild fun to be had here.

Burying the Ex is a simple B-movie, yet it is presentably humorous in the scale it plays on.

Burying the Ex sounds like a fun concept, putting the cynicism of relationships with some horror movie camp. It's quirky overall, with the combination of the monster movie tropes of its star, Anton Yelchin, and the flavor of Joe Dante's vision, this must be a perfect formula of an enjoyable zombie comedy. But surprisingly, the movie is lacking the enthusiasm it deserves. It seems like the film's only priority is just sticking to formula of a typical R rated comedy, and ends with a horror movie schlock. When it shows affections to the horror side, Burying the Ex becomes fun. But it would take a long while for the film to get there.

The film introduces itself with its main character seemingly living in misery with his girlfriend. His girlfriend apparently wants him to give up himself from being a horror movie junky, thus he struggles with her choice of choosing a lifestyle that he isn't really fond of. Then we get to meet another girl who has a better fitting personality for Max. This is meant to be something playful or somewhat, but the film's approach seems to lack real energy to make them totally entertaining. A raunchy best friend (or half brother) also exists in this story to provide a straight comic relief, but not even him could spice up these moments. When Evelyn turns into a zombie, it seems like the film doesn't earn much of a surprise. It still sticks to the quirkiness, but it's just another way to anticipate for the real payoff as we watch more of them trying hate each other, at the same time concerning the other girl and his supposedly funny half-brother.

It's only the third act where the film finds real joy from itself, even though it only lasts for a few minutes and looks pretty trashy, but this is what most of the film should have been, embracing its horror movie roots than forcing some romcom silliness. It's quite a shame because the film is scattered with potential comedy gold as well. There is a running joke about the catchphrase of Max's work that lead his costumers with amusingly bitter reactions. The film could have used more of that type of humor. The acting is surprisingly not so interesting. Anton Yelchin seems to build his own cliché as a hero who fights monsters with a hot girlfriend, but this is probably his least likable among. His Charlie Brewster had sense of adventure and humanity, while Odd Thomas had all the curiosity a monster movie needs. Here, he's basically struggling to get back to that mold, though he still spares the charisma only when the script calls him for it. Ashley Greene is trying to be freaky and cute as both human or zombie, but it never shines either way. Alexandra Daddario makes herself bubbly, maybe a little too much.

Burying the Ex should be fun. It's a simple quirky idea and yet it sticks in throwing some lazy clichés and unenthusiastic tone. Only the last few minutes where the real conflict kicks in and reveals the film's supposed true madness. If only the film focused more on that, or at least give more humor like the one that tells people to go to hell than another sex joke about half-brother having an orgy on the hero's apartment. It just wasted a cool concept for a dark comedy that could potentially bring its own personality, it's also scattered with a good taste of classic horror love, but what took over instead are the familiar and less inspired ones.

Cute movie. I don't know why it has such a low rating.

This is not your typical zombie-type movie. It's more of a zomedy (zombie comedy :p) So, don't watch this expecting something like The Walking Dead.

The acting was good, and the writing clever. The zombie makeup was interesting. The flies flying around Greene was funny, and it was one of the things The Walking Dead never implements, but you have to figure that zombies would have a lotta flies buzzing around them.

Anton Yelchin did a good job in the lead, and Ashley Greene was the sexiest zombie you'll ever see.

In thought this would be awful, but I was very entertained. I recommend this.

Some will not like this, because they don't like zomedies, but it will be their loss.

I gave this a 6-star rating.