It's always exciting when there's a new Joe Dante picture because it's become a rare occasion and while the trailer was underwhelming, the chance to see an advance screening at the Egyptian with Dante and cast and crew in person was impossible to pass up.

 

The opening 15 minutes or so dull, you wonder why Dante didn't just stop reading the screenplay and toss it aside. It's at the bad sitcom level and you expect to hear a laugh track. The setup is as simple as it gets and you keep waiting for something to happen. Eventually it does and things improve a bit in the second half, but it's never clear what drew Dante to the project and he does nothing inspired with the material. The cinematography and editing are as basic as you can get.

 

This picture shares (or perhaps steals) the bones of the 1980's classic FRIGHT NIGHT - a horror geek with a girlfriend and a best friend has to face something supernatural. But Charley Brewster had personality. He was a compelling character that you cared about. And you understood why Amy cared about him. Anton Yelchin (who coincidentally starred in the FRIGHT NIGHT remake) is typically a very good actor, but he brings nothing to Max. Max is dull. You can certainly blame that on the screenplay, but Yelchin does nothing to elevate the material. It's hard to root for him. Evelyn and Olivia are in love with him because the screenplay says so, not for any reason that makes sense.

 

As far as sidekicks go, it's hard to top FRIGHT NIGHT's Evil Ed. He is hilarious and memorable. Here we have Oliver Cooper as Travis. In his introductory sequence he is terribly unfunny, the victim of bad writing and a performer who is just not naturally funny. A gifted comic actor could have made something memorable of this role, especially later in the picture because even Cooper scores some laughs with the material. But instead it's an uneven performance and a character who goes back and forth from annoying to funny.

 

Ashley Greene in Evelyn has a role that some actresses would love to sink their teeth into. She's a militant vegan who believes so strongly in going green that she does it for a living. Then she comes back from the dead as a zombie obsessed with sharing eternal love and life with Max. But Greene never invests in either part of the role. She is either dull or annoying in a grating way pretty much throughout. It is never fun with her on screen.

 

On the other hand, Alexandra Daddario is the one lead performer who breathes life into this picture as Olivia. Daddario is a stunner (the non CGI eye candy in this summer's SAN ANDREAS) but she also brings energy and charisma to the picture. Her smile is contagious and while it makes no sense why she's so into Max and how she seems to show up wherever he is, we want Max to fall for her.

She's a horror geek's dream girl, so why wouldn’t he?

 

Dick Miller, a Joe Dante regular, has a fun cameo. If only more of this picture had Miller or other inspired characters.

 

There's a sequence early on in the film where Evelyn and Olivia meet and Evelyn starts a fight. This could have been a really uncomfortable moment for Max and a highlight in the picture, but it's just badly written and performed. Imagine if it was played real how uncomfortable it could be or how funny it could be? Not in the hands of screenwriter Alan Trezza.

 

I appreciate that this L.A. story was filmed in L.A. and there is even a sequence set at New Beverly Cinema. But BURYING THE EX looks really, really cheap. I know the budget was low, but you can still make a limited location picture look good and not feel so cheap.

 

BURYING THE EX has its moments. There are funny bits here and there and the scenes with Yelchin and Daddario are usually highlights, mostly because of her. If it had been made by a first time filmmaker, I might say it shows promise. But from a master filmmaker like Joe Dante, it is a big disappointment. His last picture, THE HOLE, was an underappreciated little gem and clearly a Joe Dante picture. My hope is that studios and potential financiers will look past this lame effort and put Dante in the Director's chair with a reasonable budget again soon.