Best surprise of the year so far. Genuine and hilarious.

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2013)

Who knew the simple combination of a socially awkward teenager and a zombie could be so hilarious and heart-warming? I expected something pretty silly from this film and was surprised when it grabbed me in its first minutes with its relateability and its kinetic atmosphere. I was curious as to how this film would be executed and I was delighted to find that it's through the disassociated narration of Nicholas Hoult's character. There's something brilliant about how he's a zombie on the outside with that kind of inner monologue, it highlights that huge gap teenagers have from their thoughts and actions. The story takes relatively predictable steps from then on in but its blissful simplicity, quirky sense of humour and creative choice of antagonist tiers keeps it engaging. It's very cinematically shot as well with a great soundtrack. It completely won me over when a character chose to play a Bruce Springsteen track for a bonding montage. Jonathan Levine disappointed me with the lifeless 50/50, it seems he was saving it all for Warm Bodies. Best surprise of the year so far.
8/10