Warm Bodies

Review by James Colt Harrison

There have never been so many laughs in a horror film than in Warm Bodies, based on the popular novel written by Isaac Marion. Director Jonathan Levine (50/50) also worked on the screenplay to give the film his unique touch. Perhaps there were some laughs in the classic films of Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, but on the whole most horror films have no sense of humor. Levine has injected laughs and witty lines into the film that give it a little different edge than is usual in this genre.

In a definite nod to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by naming his main characters “R” and “Julie,” Levine re-imagines the world-famed duo into a modern, apocalyptic setting in which the human population has been devastated by a mysterious plague.  Never fear, this setting may appear to be depressing, but the film is such an original depiction at the “horror” aspects of life lived with zombies, that we get a clear and fresh look through the use of humorous asides and comic situations.

The plot is thankfully simple: the undead corpses must eat the surviving humans in order to “live” themselves. The humans must fight off both the zombies and the “bonies,” who will eat anything. Handsome young British actor Nicholas Hoult plays the undead “R,” who is unhappy with his situation, and lovely Australian actress Teresa Palmer plays Julie, the object of his affection. After Julie’s boyfriend (Dave Franco) gets killed, R is compelled to eat him and absorb his memories. Naturally, he can’t help but fall in love with Julie. He protects her from the other corpses by hiding her in his own abandoned airplane, which is outfitted with an old record player that plays appropriate songs such as Bob Dylan’s “Shelter from the Storm” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart,” all done tongue-in-cheek.

Hoult has the tough job of being spooky, yet remaining attractive to Julie at the same time. She tries slowly to re-ignite his dead heart. Using the voice-over technique, Hoult comments humorously about the situations at hand. The picture is delightful despite the gruesome situations. Can they co-exist in the same film? Absolutely, thanks to the attractive cast and the giddy script.

Nicholas Hoult was born in England December 7,1989. Discovered by a theater director at the age of three, Nicholas was propelled into both a show business life as well as a modeling career. He immersed himself doing many television episodes as a child. He got his big break in 2002 at the age of 12 for appearing in the hit film About A Boy.  From 2007-2008, he appeared in 19 episodes the sensational television series Skins, about teens. As he grew up, he appeared in several significant films. He broke out of his innocent boy roles to play a seductor of Colin Firth’s professor in A Single Man (2009). He followed that with action films Clash of the Titans (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011). He has already filmed Jack the Giant Slayer and Mad Max: Fury Road , his next immediate releases, and begins filming X-Men: Days of Future Past this year. In his personal life, Nicholas has been dating Oscar® nominee Jennifer Lawrence.

The film co-stars John Malkovich, Rob Corddry, Analeigh Tipton, Cory Hardrict.

Mandeville Films.

 

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