After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack,
the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might
transform the entire lifeless world.
Director:Jonathan Levine
Writers:Jonathan Levine (screenplay),
Isaac Marion (novel)
Stars:Nicholas Hoult,
Teresa Palmer,
John Malkovich |
See full cast and crew »
Storyline
With much of the world's population now an undead horde, R is a young
and oddly introspective zombie. While fighting with and feeding on a
human scavenger party, R meets Julie and feels an urge to protect her.
What happens next is the beginning of a strangely warm relationship that
allows R to begin regaining his humanity. As this change spreads
through the local undead population like a virus, Julie and R eventually
have to face a larger issue when the very nature of their friendship is
challenged. Caught between the paranoid human forces and the ferocious
"Bonies", zombies who are a mutual threat, R and Julie must find a way
to bridge the differences of each side to fight for a better world no
one thought possible.
User Reviews
Finally
the great zombie romance? Well, maybe not, but it's the closest I've
seen. You get to see zombie life from the perspective of a zombie, who
starts to get feelings for a girl who's alive. Through a set of
circumstances, he "rescues" her and they take refuge in a grounded plane
at an airport overrun by the undead. There were several original
elements that I had never seen in a zombie movie. First and foremost is
the narration by our young zombie giving us insights into his condition.
He can barely utter words, but weirdly, in his head, he seems smart and
talks normally. I liked that part and I was kinda sorry when he got
somewhat better at talking, therefore evacuating most of his thoughts.
Second original element was the romance. I wasn't impressed by it, but
at least it was slow-building, somewhat charming, avoiding most of the
disgusting stuff, and you kind of rooted for them by the end.
Third
original element would be the zombies not stuck as they are. They can
"evolve" (our hero) or "devolve" (bonies, zombies who shed their outer
skins, looking almost like black ghouls or skeletons). Speaking of
bonies, I thought they looked amazing, creepy even, but their movements
were stiff and made them look computer-generated. Also, who knew that
eating brains for zombies could be a way for them to live vicariously
the past life of the person they ate, through visions. It's not even the
only way they can "change", although the other way, though nice, seemed
a bit far-fetched and too quick. Fourth original element was that there
was sometimes a humanistic, hopeful even, vibe to the proceedings
despite the dramatic elements. There's something at the end involving
the zombies and the bonies that I had never seen before. So the movie is
more original than one might think, however the execution wasn't
flawless.
Sure, overall, I found the movie had charms, but for me
the laughs were few and far between, like most romantic comedies I
suppose. Because it's supposed to be one of those, but with obviously
more somber elements. The drama could have used more "teeth" to make
this film truly memorable and moving though. The movie even made me
think of Romeo & Juliet as well as Edward Scissorhands, not bad
stories to be associated with. The creators never really went into total
parody or silly mode, which I think was a smart choice. What really
took me out of the picture at several occasions though is that they
didn't follow their own internal rules. We're told by our hero that
zombies can only shamble slowly, yet not long after, we see zombies
running. It's like they can have bursts of speed at will. Also, bonies,
for some reason, move fast despite being in a more advanced stage of
zombification. Also, I know it's a short movie, but zombies "evolve" too
quickly, especially the best friend. Acting was fairly good, not
exceptional, but I particularly liked the main character. Why? Because
he's a nice, smart freak, quite lonely and having trouble to express his
feelings in words and actions, but able to be slowly "healed" by
kindness and love. It made him interesting and relatable to me and
probably others. Yes, the movie could even be seen as an allegory on
solitude, not fitting in, and how hard it is to truly connect to others
in modern society.
Zombie makeup was rather minimal, and they
managed to make the protagonist kind of attractive, in a goth-like way,
mostly because of his great hair and pale blue eyes. I thought there
were wasted opportunities with the concept, but it could have been done
much, much worse. So, I liked the movie, I would even recommend it to
most people not allergic to zombies to see a different take on them.
It's very minimally bloody and the most "gory" part is when they show a
zombie shedding his skin to become a bonie, and even that's not too
disgusting. I think it would make a good date movie. Warm Bodies didn't
leave me cold and the more I dwell on it, the warmer my feelings for it
get.
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Good)
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