A refreshingly different kind of zombie film.

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2015)

R (Nicholas Hoult) is a zombie who spends his days shuffling aimlessly around an airport, snacking on the brains of any human who might stray across his path—but he hasn't lost all of his human qualities just yet: he still has interesting thoughts, can grunt the odd word to his zombie pal M (Rob Corddry), and enjoys listening to music.
Julie (Teresa Palmer) is one of a handful of survivors who occupy the city behind the safety of a massive wall. When she takes part in a mission to the dead zone to find supplies, she comes under attack from zombies, but is saved by R, who—having just eaten her boyfriend's brains—begins to have feelings for the girl.
With other zombies on the prowl, including the terrifying 'bonies' (the zombies who have deteriorated the most), R insists that Julie spends several days in the safety of his home, a deserted passenger jet; as R's feelings for Julie become stronger, he discovers that he is gradually becoming more human.
Warm Bodies not only works well as a charming, unorthodox romance but also as a smart allegorical tale about how society has become dehumanized to the point where many people sleepwalk through life in a zombie-like state, glued to their mobile phones, only communicating via social media or experiencing life through other people's Facebook accounts. It is only when a spark is ignited by someone who is truly alive that a 'zombie' can begin the gradual journey back from the dead.
With gentle comedy, romance, action, brain eating, AND social commentary, Warm Bodies is a welcome and innovative addition to the zombie genre that offers something to delight almost every demographic. Hoult, currently appearing in cinemas as war-boy Nux in Mad Max Fury Road, is on particularly fine-form, absolutely nailing the zombie routine. Who would have thought that that bowl-haired kid with the weird eyebrows from About A Boy would turn out to be such a star?