Since the dawn of time we’ve been conditioned to fear the onslaught of the zombie apocalypse. After all the dead aren’t exactly what you’d call friendly. With their bad b.o., poor table manners and an obsession with pulling your brain out, they really don’t do themselves any favours. They’ve been consuming brains, legs, arms and being generally repulsive on screen. Thankfully many of them live a short life when zombiefied as many receive a bullet to the head relatively quickly in any movie they make an appearance in. That is…until now.
Warm Bodies is a zombie movie with a difference. And while the story might be a bit hard to grasp, it basically goes like this. Zombie falls in love with a human, rescues her from other zbomies, looks after her, introduces her to other zombies and ultimately starts to get unzombified due to his (and her) growing affection. And while Warm Bodies has an amount of brain consumption and a few gorey bits, it’s ultimately a very sweet and touching story.
Nicholas Hoult plays our…um…lead zombie. To his credit he keeps the zombie vibe running throughout the movie and does it very convincingly as well. From brain eating to that zombie stumble, he never loses it. And while his capability to speak is as good as you’d expect for corpse, his physical gestures speak volumes and will melt hearts time and time again. The “love” interest is played by Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) and while she takes a bit of time to get warmed up, her performance is also sweet and touching especially in the latter half of the movie. But it’s Hoult who shines throughout here and even sharing the screen with John Malkovich (who has a minor role, where he doesn’t break a sweat) he lights it up time and time again. With a decent but under utilised supporting cast including Dave Franco and Rob Corddry, there’s alot to like on screen.
Unfortunately the story itself is not without its faults. At times it seems like there’s not alot going on as our leads plod around the screen going from scene to scene with the occasion conflict with a few token bad guy zombies, called Bonies. That said, it’s quite forgivable because the touching moments stand out and you can’t help but fell all warm and squishy on the inside, as ultimately the concept is refreshing and quite clever.
Teenagers will lap this up as it does push the whole “Love knows no boundries” message and Nicholas Hoult has a pair of eyes that are nothing short of phenomenal, as well as looking quite sexy. Overall, Warm Bodies is not without it’s faults, but all are forgivable and it’s a decent night out. It’s a real alternative to the genre, and it’s the perfect date movie! Recommended.