Aubrey Plaza on becoming a zombie, evolving her craft and 'Life After Beth'

After losing a loved one, almost everyone entertains the same inner-dialogue  fantasy: “What if I could have them back?”

Most people would do anything just to have one more moment with their dearly departed — even if that moment is dominated by the fear that they might eat you.

That's the scenario in Aubrey Plaza’s recent movie, “Life After Beth,” which treats viewers to an interesting new perspective in the arguably tired zombie-movie genre.

Zach (Dane DeHaan) is crushed after the sudden death of his girlfriend, Beth (Plaza). Consumed with regret over things he never said or did, he’s overcome with perplexed joy when he discovers that she’s, for lack of a better word …. alive (resurrected, as her parents put it. Like Jesus. Definitely not a zombie).

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But the joy surrounding his second chance soon gives way to terror as Beth, oblivious to her … condition … devolves into full-fledged zombiedom, complete with violent fits of confused rage, emotional insecurity and a newfound fondness for attics.

In this nontraditional zombie story, Zach is forced to face the possibility that his relationship with Beth — and second chances in general — might not be the fairy tale he once thought.

Plaza and director/screenwriter Jeff Baena brought the film to Ringling College of Art and Design Oct. 7 to kick off the sixth season of the school’s Digital Film Lab Series. In their second visit to the school, the pair hosted a screening of the film, discussed the industry with students and fielded questions from the audience.

During their first visit, last March, Baena alluded to “Life After Beth,” mentioning a script he was “dusting off,” with Plaza in mind as the lead. After American Zoetrope picked up the script, two Ringling alumni were selected as on-set interns, and they and Ringling staff joined Baena and Plaza at the film’s Sundance premiere. Coming full circle, Plaza and Baena decided to bring the film back to Ringling.

Baena was unable to attend the screening, but he injected some additional humor into the Q&A session when he popped up on the big-screen via Skype, looming over Plaza and sipping a Gatorade, pellet gun in hand as she attempted to discuss the benefits of internships.

“I actually wrote this script about 10 years ago, before zombie movies and zombie comedies were a big thing,” said Baena. “I’m not sure where ideas come from, and I think as creative people, it can be dangerous to overanalyze that, but it’s important to just keep working and keep writing, because, like this film, you never know which ideas might pan out.”

In addition to the script, Plaza’s performance as the undead Beth played a big part in setting the film apart within the genre. Although Baena wrote the script before he knew Plaza, he said he couldn't imagine a better actor for the part.

“I actually didn’t prepare to be a zombie at all,” she said with a laugh. “I thought for a minute that I might binge-watch zombie movies, but I actually decided to do the opposite, because zombies are just made up things. Any zombie we’ve ever seen is just someone else’s interpretation of a zombie, so I just dug deep to see what dark forces would come out of me.”

The results were refreshing, and with upcoming roles in “Mortdecai,” opposite Johnny Depp and Oliver Platt, Hal Hartley’s “Ned Rifle” and “A Driftless Area,” opposite John Hawkes, Plaza says she hopes to continue to challenge herself and grow as an actor.

“Until I’m Daniel Day Lewis, and I will be, I’m always going to bring a little bit of myself into every role,” she said. “Comedy has been a safety zone for me. Any time I have to be vulnerable, in a movie or in real life, that’s a challenge for me. But I want to get to a place where I can do both.”