Warm Bodies Review

Warm Bodies Review

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich
Director: Jonathan Levine
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Romance

Synopsis: Nicolas Hoult (A Single Man, X-Men: First Class) is R, a young man facing the existential crisis that comes with being a zombie. Grunting his way through a post-apocalyptic America with the mindless hunger that plagues the undead, his inner life is full of wonder and longing for the time that must have gone before.

When the memories in one of his victim's brains affect him, he finds himself attracted to, rescuing, befriending and eventually falling in love with the dead boy's girlfriend. Julie (Australia's own Teresa Palmer) is a blast of colour in the dreary and grey landscape that is the 'life" of the un-living. Their tense, awkward and strangely sweet relationship develops into something that will not only transform R but his fellow zombies and possibly their entire lifeless world.

Scary, funny and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies proves that love makes us all human.

 

Verdict: -Warm Bodies' is a post-apocalyptic zombie tale with a quirky romcom twist, based on the successful novel by Isaac Marion. Directed by Jonathan Levine (well known for his direction of the film 50/50) it stars Nicholas Hoult as the thoughtful zombie -R' and Australian actress Teresa Palmer as -R's' vivacious love interest -Julie'.

-R' is different from most zombies he's conscious, thoughtful, a collector of vintage records and a hoarder of possessions that remind him of being less than a corpse. He soon meets Julie and falls in love but not before first consuming her boyfriend's brains and using them to tap into his humanity. Together they fight to save civilization and stop impeding zombie doom.

The actors establish a strong on-screen chemistry and deliver performances with punchy comedic timing. They are sincere in their portray of a somewhat disturbing, awkward (look for the not so subtle Romeo and Julie references) and fascinating zombie/human romance. The very talented Rob Corddry deserves a special mention as -R's best friend -M', he has some of the best lines in the film and the scenes with his character -M' and -R' are hilarious. The soundtrack is also great adding another layer to the film and character development; for a zombie -R' has taste!

What I loved most about this film is despite the story structure of a romance amongst a war torn backdrop, -Warm Bodies' doesn't take itself too seriously, particularly in the face of flesh eating fiends. Its filled with many laugh out loud moments which reminded me a lot of 2009's -Zombieland's humour; particularly with lines like -Nice watch!' declared before -R' devours his next human meal. Overall -Warm Bodies' is a dead set killer at the box office, enjoy your brains zombie lovers!
-Katya Hone

Verdict: Hilariously adorable, Warm Bodies encapsulates a true romance in a post-apocalyptic world between an adorable zombie and a human.
Julie (Australia's Teresa Palmer) is the daughter of a leading zombie killer and during a zombie attack, in which her boyfriend is killed, she is taken to the home of the zombie population, an airport. As her relationship with the zombie, who killed her boyfriend and captured her, begins to develop she believes she is capable of humanising the zombie world, especially R.

Although, I'm not a -zombie fan' I thoroughly enjoyed this endearing and quirky romance especially because it's extremely smart in its humour. The charming zombie, R is gorgeous at heart and has many clever lines that ensure this film is much more than your typical zombie post-apocalyptic romance.
Rating: ****
-Brooke Hunter

Release Date: April 11th, 2013