Jeff Baena’s zombie comedy keeps creeping to the edge of genuinely satirical ideas, only to have them flop to the ground half-finished. It’s the tale of Zach (Dane DeHaan), a young man mourning the tragic death of his girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza), after she’s bitten by a snake while hiking alone. Or maybe she’s not dead after all: There’s a big hole where she was buried, and Beth’s parents (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) are being awfully secretive. Eventually all zombie-pocalypse hell breaks loose, leading to some funny moments involving the mass confusion that results when the undead return with no awareness that they’ve been gone. And Plaza’s terrific, shedding her wry-and-dry, ironic screen persona to play Beth’s freaky mood swings—from horny girlfriend to smooth-jazz-sedated weirdo to hungry creature chained to a stove—with hilarious gusto. There’s just not a lot of—I’m sorry—bite to Baena’s variation on a now-familiar premise, which could have found great material in the “be careful what you wish for” element of wanting those we’ve lost to be back among us. Yes, it’s got a few laughs. It’s simply missing a point.
By
Scott Renshaw