Warm Bodies
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malcovich, Rob Corddry
Directed By: Jonathan Levine
Reviewed by Danielle Muir

[rating: 4/5]

Yes, it’s time for another zombie movie – but it’s the quirkiness and hilarious performance of the lead actor that sets Warm Bodies apart from any other undead flick out there.  Whilst the humorous approach has of course been taken by the wonderful Sean of the Dead, this time the focus is flipped on the zombies themselves for the comedic relief – which works like a charm because of witty dialogue.  The undead don’t say much, so good thing the words they do murmur fit the situation perfectly.  Great writing and a great cast gunning for a good time – doesn’t get more entertaining than that.

The stand-out performance is from Nicholas Hoult by far – becoming enamoured with human Julie (Palmer) after eating her boyfriend’s brains, he herds her into his home in an abandoned airplane in an attempt to protect and somewhat gain her affections.  It’s all the drama of getting someone you like to like you – except he’s finding charming Julie difficult because he’s dead… (not that the make-up team went overboard in making him TOO festy if you know what I mean).  All the while we hear Hoult’s internal dialogue exclaiming his real thoughts – when his actual self can only utter the simplest of words with extreme effort.  This is reflected by his fellow dead comrades including his best friend ‘M’ (Corddry) who steals away scenes with his subdued hilarity.

Not that the world is all fun and laughter – Warm Bodies still keeps the classic risky elements of a zombie film with the inclusion of the ‘Boneys’, post-zombie beings that devour anything with a heartbeat.  Whilst made from heavy CGI they still are imposing – as are the normal zombies.  This still looks like a post-apocalyptic wasteland where humans’ only chance of surviving is through a shotgun to the brain…or to build a giant wall masterminded by John Malkovich apparently.

Teresa Palmer makes a gorgeous love interest, albeit occasionally frustrating when she constantly runs from her poor old zombie friend – but I suppose that’s understandable considering she’s in the midst of the apocalypse.  In amongst all the destruction and the undead hoards this is really a story that reflects the plights of young people in a hilarious setting – i.e. how to get girls to like you, how bored teenagers behave when they’re trapped in a confined space, girls venting to their friends about boys they like and all that jazz.  The fact that ‘R’ (the eventual moniker for Hoult’s zombie) has to deal with all this whilst attempting to act as human as possible makes for a story that is not only hilarious, but heartfelt and entertaining.

Warm Bodies is definitely one of the most entertaining zombie flicks I’ve seen recently, because despite it definitely having the generic scenes of zombies on the attack and at risk humans hightailing it away, there is so much laughter and joy to be found.  What a fantastic idea it was to instead scale an apocalypse down to two bumbling teenagers making their way through their respective worlds.

Thanks to Icon we have 10 in-season double passes to giveaway – to enter please email with ‘Warm Bodies’ in the subject title and your contact details in the message.  Only one entry per person.