Burying the Ex

Wuss (Anton Yelchin) works up the courage to break up with his girlfriend (Ashley Greene) but, before he can go through with it, she's hit by a bus and killed. Just as he is about to start a new relationship with another hottie (Alexandra Daddario), the dead girlfriend returns as a zombie.

I had a hard time liking Anton Yelchin's character. He's this wimpy hipster unmotivated guy that I doubt I could stand for five minutes in real life. Surprisingly, there's no mention of his smoking weed as there usually is with characters like this. You're slacking on your clichés, Joe Dante. He also doesn't contribute much in the humor department. That's left on Ashley Greene's shoulders. Oliver Cooper plays Yelchin's half-brother, which is itself supposed to be a joke of some kind. It's repeated throughout the movie despite never being funny. Some people have half-siblings. I don't get what's funny about that. Outside of that 'joke,' he's pretty much the Jonah Hill character. You know, the fat gross guy who is inexplicably attractive to women and whose material is something that was envelope-pushing decades ago but now seems trite. Consider yourself warned he is naked in this so don't eat while watching. As for Ashley Greene, she owns this thing. She delivers all of the movie's laughs and things just seem less interesting when she's off-screen. Sexy Alexandra Daddario is given little to work with but does fine.

I'm glad to see Joe Dante is still around and hasn't completely lost it. I mean, this is nowhere near the stuff he made in his prime, but it's better than anything John Landis has made lately. It's got a lot of the expected Dante touches (perhaps too many), such as old horror movies constantly playing in the background, a moving truck with the name Romero on it, and an amusing guest appearance from Dick Miller. It almost feels like Dante is homaging himself at this point. Aside from these touches, there really is nothing about this that stands out from a thousand other directors with less status. The movie looks as though it could have been made for television, honestly. It's a watchable horror comedy, funny in parts and gross in others. Worth a look but don't expect much.

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.

Not exactly of course, although this does feel like its aimed at a specific audience. Some might feel it's a bit too soft for them and that it feeds too many clichés throughout, but that would take all the fun out of it, if you'd reduce it to that. I understand that that's how some will feel (or felt) after watching this.

You missed out on a fun ride though. Yes you know where this is going, from start to finish, but it's fun to watch. Anton Yelcin seems to have a soft spot for the fantastic/light horror entertainment, which is a nice thing. Dante is an experienced director to say the least and he knows how to mix humor with some violence. It might not always work, but when it does (combined with the acting) it's funny

Burying the Ex (2014)

*** (out of 4)

Highly entertaining mix of horror, romance and comedy as horror fan Max (Anton Yelchin) wants to get rid of his girlfriend Evelyn (Ashley Greene) but minutes before he can do so she's killed in a tragic accident. However, due to a previous accidental wish, she ends up coming back from the dead to rekindle their love, which doesn't sit well with Max since he's moved onto Olivia (Alexandra Daddario) who shares his love of horror.

If you're a fan of director Joe Dante's work then you're really going to love this film, which is certainly a throwback to his earlier films like THE HOWLING in regards to how many winks there are to other horror movies. This film pretty much works on every level because it's funny. It's got some nice gory moments for horror fans. Even the love triangle works extremely well thanks in large part to the direction and the cast members being so great. Not to mention if you're a horror fan then you're going to get to have all sorts of cool treats including discussions about Bela Lugosi, the Halloween monster cereal and we even get clips from films like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and THE WIZARD OF GORE.

BURYING THE EX is a movie that will appeal to many but I think horror fans are going to get the biggest kick out of it. I'm sure a lot of people will look at the Max character and be able to relate to his love of movies, being stuck in a lifeless job and then there's the problem with the girlfriend who doesn't get him. All of this is brought to more life when he does get the girl who digs the stuff that he likes but that's when the zombie shows up to mess everything up. This is really a charming little date movie that manages to appeal to horror fans willing to add a little romance and comedy into their diet. This movie really is something truly funny and there's no question that Dante is able to mix all of these elements together into something really special.

There's no doubt that one of the biggest benefits is that the cast is so great. Yelchin has this laid back, dry approach that is just downright hilarious at times and especially during the scenes where he can grow a pair enough to tell the girl that he is done. Greene is simply divine in her performance because she's perfect at playing the annoying part but she also manages to make you feel bad for her because all she's really trying to do is keep the "romance" alive. She really makes for a memorable character. Even Daddario is excellent in her supporting role as is Oliver Cooper who plays the half brother who likes sex. Then there's the cameo by Dick Miller, which is just terrific.

BURYING THE EX works on many levels but I think its best aspect is simply its charm. All of the elements of the story work extremely well and if you're a horror fan you're going to get a kick out of them as well as the rest of the monster stuff that shows up.

"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.