Review of Warm Bodies (2013) by Colby M — 05 Jan 2014

I am a sucker for Zombie movies. I also don't mind a romantic comedy, as long as it isn't some cheap crap from every romantic comedy ever. Those will always have ups and downs in their relationships, and ultimately wind up with happily ever after. It is usually either: a) I started dating you for x reason, but now I really love you [insert drama]; b) you're a stranger, but I somehow knew you before I met you, through some sort of event. Now you know the event and hate me, but we'll fall in love again!

No! Stop using generic plots!

This movie, instead, starts with the leading female character Julie, played by Teresa Palmer, hating the leading male character R, played by Nicholas Hoult, because of his race. He saves her and she grows to trust him. It's generic, but it isn't such an overused theme that I want to vomit just thinking about it. It's also rather insignificant actually.

The focus I put on this movie is the zombies. This movie takes everything you know and hate/love about zombies, says "F* you!" and throws it out the window. Where are the rules of 'Zombiism that says that zombies can't reactivate the non-primitive parts of their mind? There are hundreds of different mechanics of zombies, so no one can say which is right and which is wrong. But to me, the most accurate one is that a zombie's mind is simply dormant, or at least corrupted and rotted by a cancerous infection. If dormant, why couldn't it be awoken? Maybe not by something so simple as a photograph, or love, but why not?

The other zombie mechanic I love about this film is the Bonies. The infection is basically an ongoing disease, and zombies is just the second to last stage. And referring to my other point, all diseases/infections that don't destroy parts of the mind/body and only temporarily inhibit them can be reversed. But anyways, the Bonies is the endstage. They are the zombies whose brains have been rotted through, and leave only the most fearsome, vicious, and primitive functions behind. This is an idea that not many movies or shows have developed upon, but it works, and it works well.

I also need to point out it's change in perspective. This movie is the first of any book, movie, magazine, or show that has been written around the perspective of a zombie.

Between the acting, plot, thematic choices, dialogue, scenery, and zombie mechanic changes, I would have to say this movie is at minimum a 95/100, but I would dare say I'd give it a 99/100. That is, if it weren't for the memories. The idea of gaining one's memories by eating their brain really bugged me. It wasn't even that significant to the story, and the movie would easily have made it through with flying colors without that.

** As a side note, I'd like to mention that there is also the book that the movie is based on, so you may also want to read that...