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Thanks to the recent popularity of all things undead, movie theaters have been overrun by zombies. Sometimes, filmmakers will throw in a comic twist, offering up a wildly entertaining zom-com—like Zombieland. But 50/50 director Jonathan Levine adds in an additional chick-flick twist for the romantic zombie comedy Warm Bodies.
This undead rom-com stars Nicholas Hoult as R, a young zombie who wants more out of death than just eating brains and sometimes hanging out with his best friend, M (Rob Corddry). On a trip into the city to feed, R meets Julie (Teresa Palmer), a living girl who stirs something inside him—so, instead of eating her, he decides to protect her.
R brings Julie back to the abandoned jet that he calls home. And as the two begin an unlikely friendship, R begins to change—and he’s not the only one.
When it comes to on-screen romance, Warm Bodies is about as close to a conventional rom-com as a story about a zombie and his living love can get. It fits perfectly into the usual chick flick formulas—from the underlying secret that threatens to ruin everything (R ate Julie’s boyfriend) to the big transformation in the end. In order to make their relationship work, R and Julie have to overcome resistance from his baffled friends, who want to eat Julie’s brain, and her militant dad (John Malkovich), who wants to shoot R in the head. And, of course, there’s the fact that he’s a zombie and she’s not.
But Warm Bodies isn’t just another romantic comedy. Sure, there’s a pretty standard love story—and there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud humor, too. At times, in fact, it’s absolutely, darkly hilarious, with R’s running inner monologue bringing the horrors of the zombie experience to, um, life. But it also has more than its share of action, as R and his friends battle both living and undead adversaries. It isn’t as gruesome as a movie about zombies could be, but it does have blood and brains—and some creepy skeletal zombies (called “Boneys”) that try to stand in the way of progress.
Fans of the book by author Isaac Marion, meanwhile, will find a number of pretty significant differences. While the characters and their stories aren’t nearly as developed in the film as they are in the book—and it may be a little confusing if you haven’t read the book—most of the changes are for the better. The abbreviated story means that many of the unnecessary parts have been wisely stripped away—and the conflict and its resolution make a little more sense, too.
At its undead heart, Warm Bodies is still a pretty standard rom-com. But it’s well aware of that fact—and it’s able to have a little fun with it. And its zombie action and dark humor make this quirky rom-zom-com a fun flick for both chicks and guys.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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