Warm Bodies

An original screen play? About Zombies? INCONCEIVABLE! 

Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Released: 2013
Staring: Nicholas Hoult, & Teresa Palmer featuring Analeigh Tipton, John Malkovich, Dave Franco, and Rob Corddry.
Rated: PG-13
Times Viewed: 1

  If we were to take all the zombie movies produced in the past 10 years and turned those movies into real zombies, there'd be enough to conquer the entire human race in about two hours. If we were to take all those zombie movies with predictable, reacurring plots and turned each of those movies into two zombies, there'd be enough to conquer the entire human race in about a half an hour. I'm not quite set on the mathematics of that, but what I'm trying to say is, I've come to not expect anything original coming from Hollywood these days, especially if it has the word "Zombie" attached to it. Recently released Warm Bodies has proved to be the pleasent exception. 

Based on the Novel of the same name the book "Warm Bodies" opens with this poem by Herbert Mason...

You have known, O Gilgamesh 

What interest me,

To drink from the well of Immortality.

Which means to make the dead

rise from their graves

And prisoners from their cells

The sinners from their sins.

I think love's kiss kills our heart of flesh.

It is the only way to eternal life,

Which should be unbearable if we lived.

Among the dying flowers 

and shrieking farewells.

Of the overstretched arms of our spoiled hearts.

-Gilgamesh, A Verse Narrative. 

Nice cover art.

I haven't read the book, but after seeing the film and reading the first couple pages online I'll have to check it out.

Back to the film, it's witty (I seem to by typing that word a lot) and original. Zombie apocalypse, kill ALL the zombies. ALL the zombies are evil right? Negative. The story begins at an airport, among the monotone grays, browns and blacks of shuffle zombie figures, a pop of red ambles through the crowd. This is R, our hero. Not the battling zombie killer you'd expect to open the film, mowing down his opponents in hails of gunfire and bloody savage cries; but a zombie himself. R narrates most of the film, dealing with his...situation with good spirit. Considering he's dead. Here's nice clip of the first four minutes. 

     

  The first four minutes definitely has one of the funniest opening monologs that I've seen in a while. And do you know why? Because they have good material to work with. I don't really see why hollywood hasn't figured this out yet. Find a good, funny book and that book with undoubtedly make a good funny film! Just don't tamper with it too much. Now as I said before, I haven't read the book so I can't tell you all for sure if the director stayed true to the book, but from the audiences perspective, people where laughing through a good 3/4 of the movie. The rest of the time was skeleton shooting action. I'd say that's a job well done. Having a movie from the zombies perspective was honestly hilarious, especially when R picks up a warm blooded living human, Julie, and brings her back to his ultimate bachelor pad; an abandoned passenger airplane filled with his favorite vinyl and other random objects that speak to his lifeless zombie sensibilities.

   Julie and her gang were on a recon mission for her father, Colonel Grigo played by John Malkovich, collecting medical supplies outside the massive wall that protects the city from the corpses and skeletons (bonies) At the same time, R and his pack travel towards the city in search of some dinner. The two sides meet inside a medical clinic and, as in all zombie movies, gun fire and grunts ensue. During the scrim, R sees Julie for the first and falls bloodless head over heels. However, Julie's sour boyfriend Perry interrupts, and in attempts to shot R is killed himself. In order for him not to come back as a zombie, R eats his brains thus consuming his emotions and memories. This part was actually quite heartbreaking as we see flashbacks of Perry's childhood and later the death of his father. After the zombie horde had eaten their fill in human flesh they head back to the airport. R, so taken with Julie wipes some....umm...liquidly brown stuff on her cheek so she'll be able to come with him unnoticed. I'm guessing this was the equivalent of zombie blood since the zombies don't bleed. 

  R and Julie's first interactions are hilarious as he tried to communicate with his zombie grunts and moans as well as awkwardly staring for long periods as the terrified girl. "Don't be creepy, don't be creepy, don't be creepy." 

Nicholas Hoult as R, a zombie with heart, connects with Julie, played by Teresa Palmer.

  Overall this movie was a treat. I was entertained the entire time, laughing for most of it. The zombies attempting to communicate with each other and with the humans were the best parts. R's friend M, once he learns to talk, is a highlight of the film, running over Bonies with a airport cart and translating the other zombies groans of agreement to "Fuck Yeah."

Nicholas Hoult as R and Rob Corddry as his best bud in death M

  Speaking of swearing, other than "Bitches" and the blood and violence of course, this was a fairly, dare I say, family friendly movie and I think it work's to they films advantage. Many movies today that are aimed at a teenage audience think the have to be crude, overly sexual, and excess in gore. Warm bodies does have the violence I enjoy in any zombie movie, but it doesn't consume the entire picture as some do. This movie also had the opportunity to have more than it's share of creepy zombie on human sex jokes but it stays back from that area, letting the awkwardness of the zombies communication be the real joke. This kept the credibility of the film in check. Now I'm definitely no prude when it comes to the movies, especially zombie ones, but it was kind of nice not to be showered in blood and sex for once; it opens the film to a considerably larger audience. In the screening I went to, there was quite a large number of children younger than 10 in attendance. And they all enjoyed the movie immensely.

  The film was quite well acted, lead zombie turing human R was played with great shrugging awkwardness by Nicholas Hoult who, with his spiky emo hair, brooding eyebrows and sharp features looks like he should be a regular on The Vampire Diaries (although I can't know for sure, I don't watch it) I loved seeing Analeigh Tipton who I will ALWAYS recognize from from cycle 11 of Americas Next Top Model, back when that show was actually good. After seeing her in last years Crazy Stupid Love, I was pumped when I saw she would be in Warm Bodies, yes she does more or less play the same, gangly, quirky best friend but I think she's a breath of fresh air. So distinct and goofy. I hope she continues acting even if it is only in Rom-Com supporting roles. John Malkovich was John Malkovich as he is in all movies, wonder where he has been hiding these past couple years? And as I said earlier, R's friend M is like Nick Frost to Simmon Pegg a la Shaun of the Dead. 

 The only problem I had with this movie was that the make-up was sometimes inconsistent. I do appreciate that they chose to use mostly make-up and not special effects on the zombies, however the amount of make-up on R varied throughout the film. Sometimes he had black circles under his eyes then they were gone, then they were back. Some scenes he had prominent blue purple veins creeping up his next and in the next shot they were gone. But honestly I'm not going to give them big fault on things like that; for the majority of the film the make-up was quite good. 

  Warm Bodies features some great tunes as well...apparently one man leaving the theater did not appreciate it but I liked the "crappy 80's music."  

  I would request this film to EVERYONE! I really did have a good time watching it. Plenty of laughs and many "aww" moments. Humorous, cute, but with enough zombie action and blood to interest all parties.