Film Review: Warm Bodies

Zombies are at once the most ridiculous and most terrifying of horror film staples. I was delighted by the original Dawn of the Dead, and genuinely traumatised by 28 Days Later. It’s a real love/hate relationship for me – the notion of a zombie plague is horrifying and yet I enjoy the tales of desperate survival. I like apocalypse in general; I suppose that’s the misanthrope in me. I have a tender side too, somewhere. Mainly that draws me to inspirational teen movies like Bring It On and Step Up to The Streets… I like a good romantic comedy too though.

So I was obviously going to see Warm Bodies, which at first glance is a total win for me – zombies, romance, comedy. Good. It made me instantly suspicious of the film though – we are frequently disappointed by trailers and the promises of Hollywood. Our primary zombie R gives us a bleakly funny commentary on his post-death zombie existence in an airport. He’s a bit odd, in that he collects all sorts of junk (like Wall-E. Thinking about it he’s a lot like Wall-E, except he eats people) and “lives” in an aeroplane.

It’s mostly R we follow as he goes on a raid for flesh with his zombie buddies and meets a girl. That’s where it gets delightfully weird and rather sweet as he falls in love with his captive date/lunch. That’s a very awkward developing relationship which is also very funny, and significant for the overall story. I really can’t say much more without spoiling it.

There’s an excellent balance of humour and horror throughout. It’s only a 12A so there’s nothing too gory, though it’s certainly suggested well – the bits with R eating brains and experiencing the lives of those he consumes is about as grim as it gets on screen. It made me laugh throughout and had a sufficient heart-warming awww-factor to satisfy my nicer side.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfiAkiO-RTY&w=560&h=315]

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