To label Joe Dante as one of the greatest horror/cult directors of all times would be too much honor, but admittedly he has been around for a good four decades now and inconsistently delivered a handful of mature B-movie classics as well as a batch of juvenile popcorn flicks. "Piranha", "The Howling", "Matinee" and both his "Masters of Horror" contributions are genre favorites that I personally consider as genuine classics, whereas various other titles (like "Small Soldiers", "Explorers", "The 'Burbs" and "Trapped Ashes") are categorized as interesting misfires in my book. I'm afraid that "Burying the Ex" also homes in this latter category, and the ratings as well as various other critics' reviews establish that Dante's latest movie comeback didn't result in a real hit.
For starters, and this isn't entirely Dante's fault of course, is "Burying the Ex" yet another entry in the exhausted and slowly irritable sub-genre of zombie comedies. Between 2003 (since "Shaun of the Dead") and 2014 (release year of this film) there came out far too many zombie comedies to even list, and the painful truth is that the vast majority of them aren't funny, nor horrific. I gave up on watching these, and I know for a fact that many other horror fans did the same. Heck, I probably never would have bothered to check out "Burying the Ex" if it didn't have Joe Dante's name attached to it. Secondly, and this is a completely personal objection, it's another script that makes the dreadful mistake of depicting zombies as intelligent characters, capable to communicate and function normally. Their flesh is rotting, and yet they cheerfully continue to talk, think and remember their previous lives; I hate that! Zombies are essentially brain dead, emotionless and silent killing machines. Every time a zombie opens his/her mouth to speak, the almighty George A. Romero rolls over in his grave. The plot is ultra-thin and quite stupid, by the way. A geeky horror shop clerk's exaggeratedly environmentalist girlfriend gets hit by a bus and dies, moments before a meeting that he arranged to break up with her. Due to a previously spoken vow in the presence of a gimmicky satanic device, however, she returns from the grave and remains determined to spend the rest of eternity by his side. Bummer, since he just found new and true love in the shape of a gothic, ice-cream-scooping princess.
It's probably linked to the fact that I find the screenplay utterly worthless, but suddenly all of Joe Dante's usually pleasing trademarks come across as pathetic and meaningless now. The lead characters are B-movie geeks, there are numerous references, quotes and even footage of classic horror titles throughout the entire film, but everything seem irrelevant and without any added value. Even the appearance of Dante regular and living cult monument Dick Miller feels misplaced and pitiable. At age 86, Miller shouldn't be making cameos as a police officer. There aren't really good zombie gags worth mentioning, while the make-up effects are poor and kept to a minimum. Anton Yelchin, who sadly passed away far too young, should be remembered for his role in "Green Room" instead, and even the mediocre "Fright Night" remake was better than this. I have a tremendous fondness for the ravishing actress Alexandra Daddario, but I'll gladly re-watch "Texas Chainsaw 3D", "Bereavement" or - if absolutely necessary - "Baywatch" instead of this.
For starters, and this isn't entirely Dante's fault of course, is "Burying the Ex" yet another entry in the exhausted and slowly irritable sub-genre of zombie comedies. Between 2003 (since "Shaun of the Dead") and 2014 (release year of this film) there came out far too many zombie comedies to even list, and the painful truth is that the vast majority of them aren't funny, nor horrific. I gave up on watching these, and I know for a fact that many other horror fans did the same. Heck, I probably never would have bothered to check out "Burying the Ex" if it didn't have Joe Dante's name attached to it. Secondly, and this is a completely personal objection, it's another script that makes the dreadful mistake of depicting zombies as intelligent characters, capable to communicate and function normally. Their flesh is rotting, and yet they cheerfully continue to talk, think and remember their previous lives; I hate that! Zombies are essentially brain dead, emotionless and silent killing machines. Every time a zombie opens his/her mouth to speak, the almighty George A. Romero rolls over in his grave. The plot is ultra-thin and quite stupid, by the way. A geeky horror shop clerk's exaggeratedly environmentalist girlfriend gets hit by a bus and dies, moments before a meeting that he arranged to break up with her. Due to a previously spoken vow in the presence of a gimmicky satanic device, however, she returns from the grave and remains determined to spend the rest of eternity by his side. Bummer, since he just found new and true love in the shape of a gothic, ice-cream-scooping princess.
It's probably linked to the fact that I find the screenplay utterly worthless, but suddenly all of Joe Dante's usually pleasing trademarks come across as pathetic and meaningless now. The lead characters are B-movie geeks, there are numerous references, quotes and even footage of classic horror titles throughout the entire film, but everything seem irrelevant and without any added value. Even the appearance of Dante regular and living cult monument Dick Miller feels misplaced and pitiable. At age 86, Miller shouldn't be making cameos as a police officer. There aren't really good zombie gags worth mentioning, while the make-up effects are poor and kept to a minimum. Anton Yelchin, who sadly passed away far too young, should be remembered for his role in "Green Room" instead, and even the mediocre "Fright Night" remake was better than this. I have a tremendous fondness for the ravishing actress Alexandra Daddario, but I'll gladly re-watch "Texas Chainsaw 3D", "Bereavement" or - if absolutely necessary - "Baywatch" instead of this.