Life after Beth

[jonbly]

9/10 - really liked this one. For me, it got the tricky horror comedy mix just right. Liked the detail of the bolted steel plates over the graves at the end...

[benj]

Ditto. Took a little while to get into it's comedic stride I thought but once it got there it just ran with the idea. And the brilliantly bizarre image of Audrey Plaza lugging an oven up a mountainside will continue to amuse me for weeks to come I expect. Also, I'd love to see the soundtrack listing- presumably all smooth jazz?

[Stephen with ph]

I'll be recommending this movie to everyone next week

I completely lost it during the final act ("Hiking! HIKING!!") and still haven't fully retrieved it...

[Lost Highway]

There were some great gags, especially the already mentioned "hiking" scene with Aubrey Plaza strapped to a cooker, but it felt like they filmed an early draft of a screenplay which could have done with another re-write to make everything hang together better. In the second half the film loses its focus as it concentrates more on the zombie apocalypse rather than the "romzomcom".

[Wulfster]

I absolutely loved this movie.
It might be that I had low expectations and was expecting a twee Hollywood rom-com with just a touch of zom (I know a lot of people were), but it was hilarious and ingenious, and turned out to be my favourite of the fest (just ahead of "Late Phases" and "The house at the end of time").
I am STILL pissing myself over the oven backpacking ("HIKING!!!") + "Do you want to eat me?" / "Maybe later" + "You're weirdly strong"

Why this got such mixed reviews in the states (apart from Sundance), I do not know...
But I was speaking to a Canadian at the fest, and he thought that the humour was more suited to British tastes than American.
Well I really got a kick out of it anyway. Hope it gets more attention with the UK release in October...

[ChrisReynolds]

Rom-zom-com in the current US indie comedy deapan style. I rather liked it and there were some good funny moments but the whole thing felt a bit throwaway and forgettable. I don't know why there were so many poor reviews: it seems like it would be hard to dislike it. Audrey Plaza's performance was fantastic and there were some good supporting turns, although Dane DeHaan's character came across as a bit whiney and entitled. 5/10

[DJBenz]

Fairly average and inoffensive rom-com. My missus isn't a big fan of horror and this was one of the few screeners I managed to persuade her to watch pre-festival and she enjoyed it (which always makes my life easier). Conversation along these lines:

Her: Shall we watch a film?
Me: I've got this one that's on at Frightfest
Her: Oh God, what's it about?
Me. It's a romantic comedy about a guy whose girlfriend comes back from the dead.
Her: It's a zombie movie isn't it?
Me: Technically... yes. But it's had some decent reviews. You'll probably like it.
Her: *Sigh* Go on then.

[HeadOnAStick]

Brilliant!

In almost any other festival this would be the standout comedy, but Housebound was so flawless that I have to give it the edge. Still, this was wonderful and the old guy saying 'I know attics' will never leave me, nor will the image of Aubrey Plaza on her back, attached to an oven, slowly waving her legs in the air like she was doing the dying fly.