Body Warmer

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2013)

No veritable zombie fan could hear the premise of this film and want to watch it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Warm Bodies is set post-zombie-apocalypse (think 28 Weeks later, survivor stronghold-esq), and zombies are roaming around, as they do. The narrative follows 'R', played by Nicholas Hoult, who is a zombie. R meets an alive woman (I say 'meets', he tries to eat her and her friends' brains), falls in love and, as a result, his heart starts beating again, and he gradually begins to come back to life.
Stay with me! I warned you about the premise, I really did.
When I heard the plot for this movie, and watched the trailer, even, I sicked up a bit into my mouth. Hollywood had done it, I thought, it had finally ruined the zombie genre. It had forced Twilight to rape Dawn of the Dead, and Warm Bodies was the illegitimate, shameful spawn of such an unholy union.
Though it is based on a book of the same name, written by Issac Marion, and this at least gives it some credibility, surely? Even if it is penned as a 'zombie romance' – eurgh. It's not even as though the world has never been introduced to such a thing, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's Shaun of the Dead (2004) is classified as a Zom-Rom-Com, but I think we can all agree, it's just not the same.
Despite these forth-comings, I felt compelled to watch it, it was a zombie film, after all, and I am a zombie fan. I have seen every zombie film, read every graphic novel in The Walking Dead series, and constructed a detailed plan in the, let's face it, inevitable eventuality of a zombie apocalypse. I watched it, I loved it.
My goodness, Warm Bodies! The plot, not all the great, but the humour stole the show.
The narrative is pushed along by Nicholas Hoult's voice-over, vocalising the inner thoughts and feelings of the otherwise mute zombie. The observations are so apt and hilarious, it must be frustrating to go anywhere or do anything when you move so slowly, of course! And R's constant self-admonishment to not be creepy when in the company of Julie, the object of his affection, played by Teresa Palmer, because obviously zombies experience extreme social anxiety about their deathly exterior, how have I not realised that before? Perhaps there groans are just them trying to connect.
The comedy is subtle, but brilliant. If more obvious, in your face comedies are your thing, then this might not get many laughs out of you. But if it's the simple things that tickle you, then you, like me, will be in stitches.
Like a lot of zombie films, it comments on the modern human condition, monotonous lifestyles and our growing failure to communicate and interact with each other, without the aid of technology, and in general. Which is always fun to be reminded of.
If none of the former grabs you and makes you want to watch this film, then at least check it out for the amazing soundtrack. With artists ranging from The Smiths to The National, and a bit of Jimmy Cliff in between, all of which are now firmly on my MP3 player, I would happily have it as the soundtrack to my life. The music adds so much to the film, especially with R's fetish for collecting vinyl records, and isn't always just played over the top, but also interacted with, within the narrative.
I didn't think I would enjoy it, but I did. It's not going to earn itself a spot in the top ten zombie films of all time, but it has earned itself a spot on my DVD collection, and I will be watching it again.
More reviews like this at FortressofSolitude.co.uk