Warm Bodies

WARM BODIES

Director : Jonathan Levine
Year : 2013
Genre : Comedy/Romance
Rating : ****

Over the course of motion picture history, there have been numerous adaptations of the timeless story of Romeo & Juliet. From Baz Luhrmann's overblown 1996 version to the Oscar winning 'West Side Story', Shakespeare's classic tragedy has been told through various forms and genres. However, while some try to expand and modernise the 16th century material, none have been as ambitious as 'Warm Bodies', Jonathan Levine's hilariously wry zombie comedy which contains elements of social commentary as well as numerous pop culture references; especially to the movies of George Romero and other horror classics. Starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich and Rob Corddry, 'Warm Bodies' is a hugely entertaining, funny, sweet natured and surprisingly effective film that had me laughing from start to finish.

Unlike many other zombie films which focuses on the plight of a large party of people, we follow R, an introspective member of the walking dead who remembers his days as a warm blooded human being. Living in an abandoned airport with the a large number of his undead horde, R and his zombie friends feast on the few humans who wander outside the safety of the large wall that protects the few remaining from the flesh eating monsters. One day while fighting and feeding on a party of wandering humans, R encounters Julie, a tough minded and courageous young girl and immediately feels the need to protect her from his zombie counterparts. As Julie learns more about R and delves deep into his seemingly dormant soul, a relationship begins to burn between the two and soon R's human heart begins to beat again. Could Julie's love be bringing the dead boy back to life and if so, could this be the cure to the zombie apocalypse?

To many, a film about the relationship between a zombie and a human could seem stupid and preposterous and yeah, it is. But director and screenwriter Jonathan Levine creates characters which are likable, personable and very funny. Referencing the entire history of zombie cinema from 'Dawn Of The Dead' to 'Zombie Flesh Eaters', 'Warm Bodies' should be a light hearted treat for horror fans. Jonathan Levine is no stranger to subverting genre films; in 2011 he directed the hilarious and moving cancer comedy '50/50' which took one of the toughest subject matters possible and created a heart warming and hugely optimistic film out of it. Here he takes the zombie mythology that we all know and love and changes certain elements to create a fantastic love story as well as a rip roaring zombie action film.

In the same way that 'Scream' dissected the positives and negatives of the slasher subgenre, 'Warm Bodies' explores the pros and cons of the zombie; how they think, how they react to danger and how they view humans as a food source. Levine's screenplay which is extremely satirical and meta is brilliantly funny while sticking to the tradition zombie conventions. Usually in classic zombie films, we just see the walking dead shuffling around aimlessly, searching for the next human to sink their rotten teeth into and while I enjoy seeing the gore and violence on screen, I have always found the zombie to be the Wile E. Coyote of the horror genre; they are there to be damaged, maimed and destroyed in the most inventive and hopfully, hilarious ways possible. Here, Levine explores the mindset of a zombie and why they act the way they do. Doing this, we actually feel sympathy for a member of the undead, not an easy thing to do and by the end of the film, we identify with many of the other zombies on screen. They become the unlikely antiheroes who we end up feeling a level of compassion for. To me, this is unique for a zombie film and one of the reasons why 'Warm Bodies' is a film for horror fans to watch.

In a film like this, the romance between the 'monster' and the human must seem genuine. The problem that many people had with the 'Twilight' films was that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart had no chemistry together (I disagree completely). However both Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer are both extremely watchable and engaging as the two central characters. Hoult's voiceover is very funny and satirical, much like the way that the social commentary in 'Dawn Of The Dead' was reflexively amusing. Giving R the personality of a regular awkward teenager, Levine creates great comedy when combining this seemingly innocent characterisation with the added ingredient of making him a flesh eating zombie. Just as inarticulate and personable as an average 15 year old, R has the same foibles and vulnerabilities as any boy falling in love with a seemingly unapproachable girl. This instantly allows us to identify and sympathise with the awkward zombie, even though we know that at any minute he could turn around and make a nice meal out of Juliet's prefrontal cortex. While not as layered or as interesting as R, Teresa Palmer is also very good as the target of the zombie's affection and acts well in the face of ridiculous material.

I truly believe that even die hard 'Twilight' haters will like 'Warm Bodies'. The romance isn't really at the forefront and unlike the aforementioned saga, there is great fun to be had in the wry comedy and slapstick humour. Sure it's cheesy and extremely easy to laugh at, but to me that is part of it's infectious charm. It's far from perfect but it's not trying to be and it is refreshing to see a filmmaker to go for broke in showing us the absurd and completely laughable on screen.