Breaking up, as the old saying goes, is hard to do. But what if your former flame has died, only to return as a zombie and still wants to be part of your life? That’s the dilemma faced by Max (Anton Yelchin) in the trailer for Joe Dante’s latest horror comedy, Burying The Ex.
Yelchin’s seemingly nice guy thinks he’s found the perfect woman in Evelyn (Ashley Greene), who appears to be a great match for him – she’s funny, sexy, smart and full of life. But when they decide to move in together, she reveals her true colours, which are more on the controlling, manipulative and paranoid spectrum. Desperate to break up with her, Max realises that fear is holding him back, at least until the universe (and a bus) intervenes, and Evelyn dies in a freak accident.
Yet when Max meets Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), and starts dating again, Evelyn returns from the grave as a zombie and determines that they will find their happily ever after… Even if she has to turn him into one of the walking dead to achieve it.
Dante has shown a sure hand on horror comedy before, but this one has a few worries circling it. It feels a little like last year’s zom-rom-com Life After Beth, which explored similar territory and gives off just the slightest whiff of easy, out-dated jokiness. Still, the man who made Gremlins deserves some hopefulness. After a run at festivals, **Burying The Ex **will be out in the US on June 19, but we’ll have to wait for word on a UK date.