Lukewarm Bodies

 (Warm Bodies Review By Neamo)

In reference to yesterday and it's lack of update, I feel I must apologize. Without going into too great a detail I had been otherwise incapacitated by a bout of illness that had left me unprepared with fresh content to provide to you, the silent but vigilant viewers of my blog. It's an unfortunate but inevitable side effect of life, and one that I shall do my very best to prepare for with 'filler' content, reviews and the like I am able to shelve until needed in a moment of frailty. As such this review too is a little late, and once again I can only apologize for it's tardiness, but as self flagellation doesn't come naturally to me I shall proceed onward into brighter territory. Warm Bodies is a film I have fair to mixed views upon, and if I'm entirely honest it doesn't strike home as a traditional movie in of itself. Taking riffs from parodies of bygone era's over this generation's penchant for the sickly sweet and angst inspired drivel, this film serves as a mockery to the established fans of teenage angst and faux fantasy, and that is something I can firmly get behind.

Our film starts with our lead protagonist, a teenage heartthrob without a throbbing heart of his own, who quickly introduces us into the magical world of the macabre, and the social interactions of the freshly dead. Though the film doesn't really touch on decomposition, these nubile and otherwise preserved corpses are a far cry from the fetid remains that pop culture has led us to rightly believe they would be, all trace of stagnation replaced with a faint sheen of glitter, or a dab of well placed mascara. The only real sign of rot that we are introduced to is in the skinless husks lovingly named Boneys, zombies that have otherwise lost their way and in doing so have decided to ritualistically abandon their flesh. Fast, agile and menacing, it feels superficial for me to glibly inform you that in a film where zombies are our real protagonists, super zombies are the enemy, but that's essentially it in a nutshell. 'R', our protagonist of few words aside from his inner monologue informs us quickly that life for zombies normally revolves around finding a person and consuming their brain for the stimulating chemicals within. Consuming brains wherever possible, those bland lumps of human flesh allow the zombie to re-live the memories of their owner and remain a prized delicacy in a world of no sensation, so when our lead protagonist devours the brain of the boyfriend of our lead heroine, you can quickly see where the lines in the sand pool and gather. Kidnapping and protecting that delicious but beautiful morsel of his dreams, 'R' quickly begins to reveal a softer side, and beguiles and bewitches his happy go lucky captive with stories of the old world, trinkets, and delightful insights of how her boyfriend's brain tasted. I am not joking. Returning to the humans, Julie then proceeds to tell all and sundry of the virtue of the undead, and being the daughter of the human resistance commander is told in no uncertain terms to shut the fuck up in the same breaths. Distraught, it is only with 'R's reappearance that her heart is set to flutter once more, and after deciding to give her playful corpse a makeover brings him to meet the resistance leader. He see's through the sham immediately, and remains furious. Shit goes down, the humans go on the hunt, and the zombies aid the humans in killing Boneys, the 'REAL' threat. Unlike the delightful skull crunching companions. It is then found that with love and attention, zombies return to life once more, and that the entire war had been unnecessary, and the walls are broken down in an ending that makes Twilight seem gritty by comparison.

In that plot you can see why I do not truly consider it a film, it isn't one. The fact of the matter is, the acting performances are passable at best with John Malkovich providing a wafer thin patriarchal villain, Teresa Palmer also failing to shine as our lead actress. In the same way that Wall-E became more annoying with the introduction of creatures that could vocalize, this film too suffered from that same problem, far more preferable when confined to the realms of grunts. The best performances of this movie? Nicholas Hoult provided an unrealistic and decidedly angst ridden zombie that would have been unbearable were it not for the witty and gripping monologue, but Rob Corddry's performance as 'M' was a pure joy to behold. The classic bar buddy, if undead, his shambling and general listlessness added intrigue to the zombie father figure and mentor that I hadn't expected until this point, and I quickly found myself wishing for more scenes with him to appear.

The script was well written, plot aside. I've mentioned the inner monologue a few times now, if not in a repeated mantra, and I believe I must continue to do so in order to impress upon you that the film is worth watching if for nothing else but that. Witty, sharp and concise, the writing isn't flawless but it certainly takes japes and potshots at genres otherwise abandoned in a dark abyss, and I can't fault that. The scenery wasn't laudable, and I would imagine it reflected a shallower budget than intended, as too did the special effects. I remember little of the music.

If I'm entirely honest I can't without a heavy heart advise you watch this film. It's clever, and has some witty insight, but in that respect I do not consider it to be a film. If you are able to cleave away the storyline, and look at it objectively it's very amusing, but it certainly isn't perfect. I enjoyed it, but it's certainly not to everyone's taste.