Burying the Ex

A guy (Anton Yelchin)'s regrets over moving in with his girlfriend (Ashley Greene) are compounded when she dies and comes back as a zombie.

Apparently this film has largely negative reviews. That surprises me. I can understand mixed reviews, because this is definitely not Joe Dante's finest film. But where are the horror fans who appreciate all the great references? This is definitely a love letter to horror fans, the ones who are gore to the core.

Maybe the humor was a little off. I thought the sex factor was played up a bit more than it ought to have been (but I am also very prudish). And Ashley Greene was somewhat annoying (though this was how her character was scripted, so that should be a compliment). Overall, this was enjoyable and light. I can see it getting improved reviews as time goes on.

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.

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.

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.

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.