Warm Bodies

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Warm Bodies
Released 2/1/12, now in theaters

Zombie madness has the spotlight again in the new horror comedy, Warm Bodies.  The film is based on Isaac Marion's book of the same name.  Directed by Jonathan Levine, Warm Bodies stars Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer in the two main roles.  John Malkovich and Rob Corddry co-star.

After a zombie apocalypse, a restless teenage walker (Hoult, and, yes, I'm borrowing from The Walking Dead) endlessly wanders an airport terminal with dozens of other undead looking for meaning to his existence and...food.  This teenager, later called "R",  appears to be different than most other zombies as he's self aware of what he is but has foggy memories of his old life, including his name.  And he's just unable to shake that troublesome "affliction" he currently has.  He attempts communication with a fellow zombie, later called "M" (Corddry) with a series of grunts, snorts and occasional near-words.  Like all of his brethren, he craves human flesh, particularly brains, as grey matter acts as kind of a drug for the undead and allows them to access the memories of the victims.  As bad as the zombies are for what's remaining of humanity, there's an even bigger threat which gives even the regular undead pause.  There are packs of zombies called "bonies" who have lost all traces of human consciousness and exist as skeletal remains always on the hunt for a beating heart. 

Zombie and humans meet for the first time in the film when R leads a hunting pack outside the airport in search of food.  His group encounters a group of teenagers from the nearby human encampment themselves searching for hospital supplies outside their city's protected walls.  When the two groups meet, it's an instant blood bath.  R meets Julie (Palmer), daughter to the human resistance's leader, General Grigio (Malkovich).  Something strange happens to R when he notices Julie.  He's instantly attracted to her and wants to protect her from the rest of his party.  Of course that could have something to do with the fact that he just consumed part of  her boyfriend's brain, too.  He is able to disguise her from the other zombies in his party and takes her back to his home in the airport, an abandoned passenger plane.  Further strangeness ensues as the two of them begin to bond and R starts to become more human as he continues to consume the boyfriend's brain (a traveling snack, if you will).  Humanity is not only infecting R, it is also spreading to the other zombies still clinging to traces of their former selves.  Now the trick is convincing, General Grigio and his army that the real enemies are the growing number of bonies that are  a threat to human and zombie alike. 

Warm Bodies is a relatively harmless romantic teen-comedy.  It works on a certain level, but, in my opinion, it suffers a bit by straddling the fence between romance, comedy, and horror.  I would have liked it a little better if it just picked a lane.  It's kind of funny.  It's kind of romantic.  It's kind of sca...well, it's not really scary.  I wish it would have played up more of the farce angle a la Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland.  Those movies, while raucous comedies, also had those elements of danger associated with a zombie apocalypse.  Warm Bodies tries to simulate the danger, but you never quite get that feeling of dread.  Maybe that was the point since this is supposed to be some sort of bent rom-com as it turns out. 

The performances are decent enough, although I think John Malkovich's talents are a bit wasted here.  There's one thing I did really like.  The zombies ran after their prey.  I always find that much more terrifying than the undead ambling along and overwhelming their victims.  The Bonies tear after their victims like the T-1000 did in Terminator 2, although it did look cartoonish at times. 

Overall, I applaud that Warm Bodies tried to give a different take on a much used (overused?) subject.  It is a bit of a stretch that the movie tries to convince you that all the zombies really needed was a hug and understanding to make everything better.  But again, it's a different take on the subject.  It's just not that memorable in any way, shape, or form.  It's a passable distraction that you could wait for on Netflix or at Redbox.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

**3/4 stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee. Buy this on DVD when released!
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here. Get this DVD goes without saying