Review of Warm Bodies (2013) by Timothymayer — 20 Sep 2013

Warm Bodies is a neat little horror movie now playing over the Internet. "Cute", "sweet" and "funny" are not words I normally associate with zombie movies. "Gross", "disgusting" and "gore" are the ones I use. But this movie, directed by novice filmmaker Jonathan Levine, surprised me. I don't know if it's a new trend in zombie entertainment, but a nice zombie-human love story is a positive one.

"R" is a living dead flesh-eating zombie who spends his days stumbling around an abandoned airport with the rest of the reanimated corpses. But he realizes his situation is hopeless. Most of the introduction to Warm Bodies consists of his internal monologues. For instance:

"What am I doing with my life? I'm so pale. I should get out more. I should eat better. My posture is terrible. I should stand up straighter. People would respect me more if I stood up straighter. What's wrong with me? I just want to connect. Why can't I connect with people? Oh, right, it's because I'm dead.".

Prior to the opening of the film, a zombie apocalypse had taken place. Most of the human survivors have gathered in a walled-off fortress where General Grigio (Malkovitch) manages to keep the remaining humans alive. The zombies exist in two forms: 1) the "corpses", who stumble around all day, looking for human food and 2) The "bonies", skeletor things who will "eat anything with a pulse". The major difference between the corpses and the bonies are how they view their existence: corpses will eat the living, but feel conflicted about it.

A team of young adults are sent out beyond the wall to scourge for much-needed medical supplies. While the corpses attack, "R" finds himself smitten with one of the women (Teresa Palmer). Although he's munched on her boyfriend's brains, he pulls her out of the mob and takes her to safety in his private crash pad. At first she's terrified of him, but "R" manages to win her trust. He shows her how to act like a zombie to avoid being eaten. Eventually she makes it back to the human side of the wall.

But she's started something within "R". As he begins to develop human feelings, he becomes less of a zombie. Soon, the other corpses are learning to be human again. The bonies don't like this one bit and toss them out of the abandoned airport. Knowing the bonies are massing toward the human city, the corpses link-up with "R" and head toward the last refuge of humanity. Will the corpses be able to stop the Bad Living Dead? Will the humans not shoot the corpses and accept their help? Will "R" be able to express his love for the human woman?

It may all sound silly, but the movie works. There are some hilarious moments. Such as a scene where "R" tries to imagine how the airport looked before the zombie apocalypse. Instantly, we see how it was in the old days, with bored travelers shuffling around the terminal staring at their smart phones with glassy eyes.

So check it out if you get a chance. It's not even that violent.

Www.cinemaofhorror.