Film Review: Burying The Ex (2015) – Review 2

SYNOPSIS:

Max is trapped in an unhappy relationship with Evelyn but doesn’t have the nerve to break up with her. After she is killed in an accident he thinks that he is finally free and attempts to pursue a new relationship with Olivia. Unfortunately his plans go awry when Evelyn comes back into his life as a zombie. Will he get to live happily ever after with Olivia or is he destined to fulfill his promise to be with Evelyn forever?

REVIEW:

I have always loved Joe Dante and think that he is one of the greatest directors of all time. He always delivers and his newest film Burying the Ex is no exception. I thought that it was a cute little movie that has a lot of heart, and while it may not be a full-blown horror flick I still enjoyed it. It’s a fun movie that is actually quite touching at times and I had an absolute blast with it. As most people know I ordinarily don’t particularly care for horror comedies but I loved this movie. I thought that it was well-written, had great characters that I actually cared about, and it was just an all around awesome movie for a number of reasons.

I thought that the premise was pretty cool and it definitely made for an interesting movie. It tries something different with the whole zombie thing and succeeds for the most part. As I’ve said countless times before, I believe that zombies have become played out and it is very hard to do anything different or original with them at this point in time but this movie manages to do so. While some people have argued that it is just a rip off of Life After Beth I have to disagree as I feel that while it is very similar in a lot of ways it does has some subtle differences that made it a better film. I’m not saying that I didn’t like Life After Beth as I thought that it had its moments, but I enjoyed Burying the Ex just a tad bit more. Having been in a horrible relationship in the past that I didn’t know how to get out of I could really relate to this film and totally felt for Max and what he was going through when the girlfriend he wanted to get rid of came back into his life and refused to leave him alone (and I think that a lot of other viewers who have experienced a terrible relationship will be able to do so as well).

I totally dug the characters as well and thought that they were probably the main reason that the movie was so kick ass. Even though some people will disagree I thought that Max (Anton Yelchin) was a great character and I couldn’t help but root for him as he deals with the return of his deceased girlfriend and tries to maintain a relationship with Olivia at the same time. I also dug Olivia (Alexandria Daddario) and thought that she and Max made for an awesome (and incredibly cute) couple. While I really liked Travis (Oliver Cooper) and thought that his character was oddly cool the best character in the film was without a doubt Evelyn (Ashley Greene) Evelyn is such an unbelievable bitch to Max (and everyone else she comes into contact with in general) that you can’t help but like her. Greene does an awesome job in the role and owns every scene that she is in. The character is annoying, rude, selfish, and obnoxious as hell but for some reason I liked her and thought that she rocked. Some viewers may hate her for some of the things that she does (and for the fact that she has such a shitty personality) but I thought that she was one of the reasons that this movie was so good.

I also like the fact that Evelyn is still pretty much the same person even though she is a zombie. Yes, she is slowly rotting and at one point develops an appetite for brains but in general she stays the exact same bitchy person that Max wanted to get rid of in the first place. She doesn’t become just some brainless killing machine that eats anyone that she comes across and I thought this was a nice touch. She pretty much just goes on with her life even though she is a zombie and participates in her normal activities that she enjoyed when she was alive. If you’ve ever wanted to see a zombie do Yoga (with bizarre results), get drunk, or hit a dance club during a night on the town this is your chance.

I really dug Burying the Ex and had a great time while I was watching it. It is pretty damn good for the most part and even though it has a few minor issues (I wasn’t big on the ending as it seemed a little overly sweet and happy to me) I still thought that it was quite excellent. If you are in the mood for a fun horror/comedy that doesn’t rely on crude humor then you will enjoy this film. Joe Dante delivers yet another winner with this film and I think that if you give it a chance you will agree. Check it out as soon as you can, you won’t be disappointed.