Yes, here we are with yet another zombie film to add to the ever expanding list. Even a huge
zombie aficionado such as myself is getting a little tired of this genre. That
being said, The Girl with All the Gifts,
based on M.R. Carey’s novel of the same name, stands out from the hoard of
cliché walking dead films.
The basic premise is that a fungal infection has turned much
of the populace into mindless zombies, known as “hungries” in this universe.
Because, you know, nobody has ever heard of zombies for some reason in these
movies. There is a ray of hope: there are children who still retain most of
their humanity even after they are infected with the sickness. They are kept on
a military base for scientific observation under heavy restraints. One such
hybrid child by the name of Melanie (newcomer Sennia Nanua) has genius level
intelligence and is the best at keeping her cannibalistic urges at bay.
The Girl with All the
Gifts borrows heavily from other media in this genre—the fungal infection
was used in the game The Last of Us
and the diseased humans act a lot like the rage infected people in 28 Days Later. What saves this from
being completely cliché is the high quality direction by Colm McCarthy (known
for directing the second season of the television show Peaky Blinders) and Sennia’s inspired performance as Melanie. She
is equally endearing and frightening as she goes between an inquisitive
precocious child and a ravenous monster. She wears a face shield not unlike
Hannibal Lector and it’s incredibly creepy looking with her blood-covered face
behind it. The rest of the cast is pretty good, with a surprisingly hammy Glenn
Close as the fanatical Dr. Caroline Caldwell and an earnest Gemma Arterton as Helen
Justineau, the teacher with a bleeding heart for the hybrids.
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| Herpes is a bitch! Wear protection. |
When the shit hits the fan the action is hot and heavy—I
haven’t seen mayhem like this in a zombie flick in a while. I really dug the
makeup work on the zombi…I mean hungries and
they are fast and ferocious. The first third of the film is especially
intriguing, but about halfway thorough it falls back on comfortable tropes.
There are some twists and turns that are clever and I found the ending to be
chilling. The music score, by Cristobal Tapia de Veer, is evocative and uses
children singing for an eerie vibe. It’s a strong element to why this movie is
so intriguing even with its reliance on things we have seen before.
Overall, this is a good film that fans of zombies would not
regret watching. It manages to find a fresh perspective and throws in a few
surprises even for the most seasoned horror veteran.
-Michelle Kisner