Dir. Jeff Baena | Now Streaming On: HBOMax | Rating: 2/5

Where do I start with Life After Beth? Horror fans, or really anyone who has read a plot synopsis of Pet Semetary, would never find themselves in Zach’s situation. Or at least, I would sincerely hope they wouldn’t. Is this terrible? No, I guess not, but it isn’t particularly good either. 

I’m running out of ways to say I don’t love horror comedy, and I’ve got another handful to review for the Cagematch. This is a satirical lens of the grief narrative in horror. This tries to be funny, but much of this didn’t land with me. This gave me the same vibes as the show Big Mouth. Everything is lightly laced with sexual innuendo and that either makes for a good laugh or an uncomfortable silence. 

You’ve got a few one liners in here, basically all of Kyle’s dialogue, that got a chuckle out of me. There is a problematic joke about Haitians that is carried through the bulk of the film, and though the main characters are called out for it, it’s still not in great taste. Go ahead, complain about how I have no sense of humor and I need to lighten up in my comments, I know it’s coming. If I knew how to lighten up, maybe I would have a social life instead of spending my free time reviewing films on the internet. 

The cinematography isn’t anything special, especially for A24, but I will give some credit to the cast for trying their best with such a ridiculous script. This has a star studded lineup between Audrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Matthew Gray Gubler and Anna Kendrick, all with their own strengths as comedic actors. Ultimately, the plot isn’t strong enough to keep its steam for the entire 90 minute run time. The scares in this are nonexistent. This would’ve made for a much harder hitting short film. 

To be entirely honest, there really isn’t a lot going on in Life After Beth. There isn’t any rhetoric or messaging that you can really bite into, which makes writing a full review of it challenging. Similar to In Fabric, I don’t have much to say here but for the sake of totally destroying – I mean kindly debating our guest for the Cagematch, I will trudge onward.  

Know Before You Watch: death, blood, sex, sexual assault.