Maggie

 MAGGIE

Director : Henry Hobson

Year : 2015

Genre : Horror

Rating : ***1/2

 

While he may be best known for his B-Movie action movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger has tried numerous times throughout his career to prove to audiences that he can actually be a serious actor - admittedly to varying degrees of success. However, his latest attempt 'Maggie' certainly succeeds where so many other films have failed. Set against the backdrop of a zombie plague, the film tells the story of a father (played by Schwarzenegger) coming to terms with the gradual decline of his beloved daughter Maggie (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin) who has recently been bitten by a 'necro-ambulist'.

Set in a putrid sepia world, debut director Henry Hobson wonderfully paints a picture of a completely hopeless existence where the line between human and predator has become horribly blurred. It is now an Earth where your wife could become your killer and the desperate plea for normality and terror faced is reflected through both the pungent cinematography and melancholic, almost whispered screenplay. But unlike most zombie movies, 'Maggie' doesn't have big action set pieces or moments of blood-letting evisceration. 

Instead, the horror lies in it's portrayal of the decay of Maggie herself which is more reminiscent of the effects of a degenerative disease such as AIDS or cancer and because of this, the film is a lot more emotionally resonant than many of it's genre counterparts. In fact, there were a couple of moments which almost bought me to tears and that is in most part due to the performances from both Abigail Breslin and Arnold Schwarzenegger whose on-screen chemistry is both touching and incredibly believable. The always brilliant Breslin wonderfully manages to walk the line between trying to keep it together for her family and abject fear while Schwarzenegger gives a much more restrained and effective performance than one would anticipate. Anyone expecting a straightforward zombie picture may be disappointed by the notable lack of gore and action but as a teenage tragedy about terminal illness, 'Maggie' is surprisingly effective and shows that beneath the gruff exterior and thick Austrian accent, Arnold Schwarzenegger can bring a lot more emotion and depth to a performance than many give him credit for.