Film Review: Warm Bodies

So. There's actually a second romzomcom out.

Or is it zomromcom? I can never remember. For those of you who felt Shaun of the Dead deserved to create a whole new genre, Warm Bodies is out to continue the trend.

Set in an post-apocalyptic zombie future we follow our self-aware zombie, R, as he goes about his day to day non-existence. Today's flavour of zombie is a bit more savvy than many other films, as we see that zombies parody everyday actions that they used to do, and are even capable of some independent thought. Zombies that give up entirely however morph and become a 'boney,' a shrivelled skeleton creature that only exists to kill and eat. Our zombies here consume brains because not only are they delicious (duh) but in doing so they gain the memories of the victim, briefly reminding them what was like to be alive. As a raiding party containing Julie and her boyfriend Perry loot the remains of a pharmacy store beyond the range of the protected wall of their settlement, a pack of zombies led by R and his 'best friend,' M, attack. As R sees Julie, he pauses, and seems to be drawn to her somehow... until Perry makes the inexcusable error of missing a headshot five feet away, on an unaware target, from an elevated position... with a weapon that appears to be able to do at lest semi-automatic fire.

Look, I'm saying I could of made that shot. And I'm a British man who's never held a gun. And if not? It held more than one freakin' bullet in the round. 

Well, you ain't surviving a zombie apocalypse with such shit aim son, so R beats Perry to death and eats his brains, as Perry decidedly deserved. In doing so, R absorbs enough of Perry's memories to make that attraction strong enough that he rescues Julie, hiding her away in his den of a old 747.

From here we see the relationship between R and Julie slowly develop, which each step leading R to feel more and more human. However, Julie has to return home, but R's condition seems to be spreading to the other zombies, which starts a conflict between the corpses and the boneys... and also the humans, who are kinda legitimately worried with the mother of all zombie gatherings on their doorstop. So R has to find a way to get the girl, convince a gung-ho nutter not to kill him on principle, avert an all out war between boneys, corpses and humans, and do it all with barely any ability to speak and with the dexterity of a, ah, zombie. Simples!

Personally, I'm just happy to have a male protagonist who's gormless express is actually intended... and not because he hated the source material

Admittedly, whilst I acknowledge Shaun of the Dead for starting this genre, it's pretty much due to Twilight's success this got made. Like vampire, but with zombies! Only this film isn't trying to push an abstinence Mary-Sue agenda, instead realising it has a funny concept here it'd like to play with. And in fairness, it is a nice twist on the regular zombie formula with zombie with a bit of computing power between the ears existing alongside the more mindless versions. A lot of the funny moments are R's insights and self awareness, likes his resignation that the traditional zombie shuffle walk doesn't get you where you want to be any time quickly.

Honestly, it could of done with a lot more of these moments, as this film is kinda a slow build. A lot of the time is spent building on the budding relationship between R and Julie, feeling more 'romantic' than 'comedy' with it's soundtrack and pacing but it comes off very sweet so I'll give it a pass there. Otherwise the comedy comes from M's brilliant contrasting behaviour to zombie's norms, R's battles with zombie-impaired dexterity and becoming more like a human, and latecomer Nora's quips. One of the biggest laughs from the audience was R realizing he was not only cold, but that being cold sucks. In fact I really enjoyed watching the subtle changes in R's makeup as he slowly became more human-like, with his eye shadow lightening and his dark veins fading.

It had a lot of soundtrack to go through, though it would drop the ball here and there. Zombies attempting a badass walk to Rock You Like A Hurricane? Yes. Very yes. Cuts out way too soon.

There are bits to nit-pick, as there always is. At the end of the film, with the boneys massing to attack the zombies that had left, the humans are fearing a giant push on their settlement. Makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that instead of fighting them behind a nice, sturdy wall in a strong defensive position, they go out on attack. Where they split up. Into small groups. Against an enemy that can see in the dark. That moves really fucking fast when they want to. That can only be killed by a direct hit to a small, rapidly moving part of their body.

Clearly, their leader, Julie's dad, was called 'Colonel' in a honourary sense 'cos there is no way he was in the actual military before the apocalypse.

Also, what was with his doubt that R couldn't change and was still an unfeeling zombie? Dude, the fact that he's standing right in front of you, chilling out, not currently engaged in gnawing on the nearest person's head... that's surely a giveaway, right? The whole, 'not currently actively engaged in feasting on the living in contrast to every other zombie ever' thing? Doesn't register? Colonel my arse. You found a box of army surplus medals and pinned them on you before anyone suspected a thing.

Alright, fine, there's little niggles and inconsistencies, and it isn't a laugh a minute like Airplane! (though in truth, nothing is ever getting to close to that accolade.) But Warm Bodies is surprisingly sweet, with a very touching ending. Whilst it swung more towards romance than comedy, you know what? A healthy does of zombies makes it very palatable to me. Give the trailer a watch. Whilst the trailer may showcase quite a few of the best lines if it seems like something you can dig, go for it. It'll be a romantic comedy that both women and overcompensating men can enjoy.

Wait, did I just sum up a review with, 'Eh, watch the trailer, it'll be all you need to make a decision'? Jesus, I am the worst reviewer ever.

Ugh. Even in death I can't escape shitty media.

Whilst I'm here I'll talk a bit about when I do reviews, what you should expect to see from me. I'm not really interested in doing big, blockbuster stuff, as I sincerely doubt I'll add anything to the mix. I will be instead try to focus on the littler, small scale stuff, such as Rise of the Guardians as I did before. The biggest thing I've done is Pratchett's Dodger, and that's only due to I was gushing about the book and if I didn't write it down I was in serious danger of getting lamped from a passing stranger as I unloaded my love for the book on them.