An Alternative to Zombie-mania?

Zombie-mania has hit the world like a storm. From classics like Dawn of the Dead to modern films like World War Z, we are surrounded by the idea of the living dead. There are countless films on the subject and books like Zom-b by Darren Shan. Even games have brought in the idea. For examples of that, check out Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 aka shooting Zombies via the use of combat maps. For some people, the gore of the zombies eating people and getting shot in the head is enough but what about the people who don't like that side of the zombie genre or for the people who want to see a different version?

Well, I'm one of these people. I don't like the idea of zombies and the whole apocalyptic feel. For me, it's all predictable. Usually, it's a virus or some infected animal gets out into the world and starts the zombie plague before a group of survivors fight back and gradually get killed or infected one by one til there's only 2 survivors left. Then one of them usually dies or gets infected and miraculously the other survives against all odds. Occasionally, you get a good zombie movie where that isn't the plot. 28 Days Later for example but it's very rare to find one. Anyway, a friend recommended I watch Warm Bodies as an alternative to the usual zombie movies so I did and here's what I thought on it.

Warm Bodies was released in 2013 and stars Nicholas Hoult (Xmen: First Class) as an unusual zombie named 'R' and Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) as Julia, the daughter of an anti-zombie commander, played by John Malkovich (Red). The film works around R and Julia falling in love and the power of human connection. There are several elements that I like about it. I enjoy that it looks at the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse from a different prospective. The zombie's in fact.

The movie is narrated by R, who is witty, very sarcastic and acts as a normally functioning human in his head. On the outside though, he's a zombie. Unable to speak apart from one or two words and a series of grunts, unable to sleep and has an insatiable hunger for human flesh. The story also brings in the idea of zombies eating human brains to gain the feelings and memories of their victim, making them feel alive. They also seem to have remorse about eating people despite the fact that they can't help it. What makes this movie even more interesting is the developing stages of the zombie. They don't just stay as corpses. They gradually become a thing known as bonies, where they lose all of their humanity.

The other thing I like about this movie is it has a decent storyline. There's nothing predictable about it. It's also got a nice amount of comedy in it, which balances nicely with the idea of a post-apocalyptic America filled with flesh eating zombies. I also like that it has a bit of romance and gives hope to the zombies with the idea of them coming back to life. I also like how the bonies are beyond redemption and have only one thing on their mind. Their next meal.

Overall, I think it might not be for a hardcore zombie fan but if you're looking for a good alternative to a typical zombie movie then I recommend watching this. I would definitely watch it again and have done many times since I saw it.