Friday, October 16, 2015

Burying the Ex


(2015) ** 1/2

Max and Evelyn are a cute young couple living together in LA.  Max works at a Halloween prop shop, but dreams of a future where someday he works in and owns a Halloween prop shop.  Evelyn works at a green blog company writing blogs about how to be more green.  Yep, that’s as much development as these characters get.  Max and Evelyn have lots of great sex, but otherwise, they are ill-suited for each other.  A random prop at Max’s shop casts a spell on Evelyn so that when she tragically dies, she comes back from the grave and thus interrupts Max’s rebound romance with Olivia, who runs a Monster-themed ice-cream store. 

Burying the Ex is directed by Joe Dante.  Did you guys know he’s still alive?  Yeah, he directed Gremlins, and then did very little else for the past 30 years.  Imdb says he’s been directing lots of tv shows, most of which I’ve never heard of.  Anyway, he’s trying to bring back his comic-horror charm in this movie with lots of meta-jokes about old horror movies.  I enjoyed these a lot, and I suspect fellow ‘thoners would as well, but most would probably be lost on 98% of audiences.  There’s a fun cameo from a Gremlins star who I also hadn’t seen in 30 years.  I saw this movie an hour or two after reading Cat’s review of Devil Bat, and then BAM!  Devil Bat is playing in the background of one of these scenes.  That was fun.  

The attempt to treat real-life girlfriend becoming a zombie stuff, Life After Beth and Warm Bodies did it better in previous years.


Otherwise, despite trying really hard, this movie is never really that funny.  There are parts that will make you smile, but not actually laugh.  I find Anton Yelchin a really good, charismatic actor too, but he ends up in so many bad movies.  I feel like his career is going to be buried in this decade.  He’s only 26, but his receding hairline may as well receive co-billing in this film.  To sum it up…. Well-intentioned, but misses the mark.  

4 comments:

Catfreeek said...

I had no idea that Dante was still around so you prompted me to look at his imdb and I see he directed an episode of Salem and two episodes of the cancelled Witches of East End so I guess he has been lurking around the horror genre. Funny about Devil Bat.

Octopunk said...

Since Anton Yelchin is in the new Star Trek movies he can always fall back on autographing pictures at conventions. He'll be fine!

Who was the Gremlins star? Oh wait I peeked. It's Dick Miller from Bucket of Blood. God, I'm surprised he's still alive too.

AC said...

Wish this were better. I do love a good horror-comedy and haven't been able to find anything promising lately.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

I love Gremlins because it's intertwined with my childhood but overall I'm just not a fan of Joe Dante's style when it comes to horror. I have a feeling this movie would irritate me.

Malevolent

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