Warm Bodies (2013)

I expected more from "Warm Bodies". To start with the most powerful impression left by the movie = disspointment. Since I don't have a better subject, though ...

We're talking about a zombie movie. A bit different from the usual productions like Romero's " .. of the Dead" series, "I Am Legend", or (probably) the newer "World War Z" which I didn't see yet. It's something that wants to be a zombie romantic comedy. How do you get to that ? Well, easy, we have three categories of Earth inhabitants: the "apocalypse" survivors, zombies, and advanced zombies = skeletons (let's just say that the middle group is the intermediate phase between the other two). Obviously, the survivors are camped in sort of fortified perimeter, from where they go out from time to time to get medicines and other supplies. During such an exit they get attacked by a zombie group, and by chance one of the youngest heartless creatures gets for lunch the brain of a living guy of pretty much the same age. Spoiler (and I don't feel bad for it): that's the way to "digest" the victim's memories, the result being a love at first sight towards the poor dead's ex-girlfriend. Which ex-girlfriend is actually present in the attacked group, and our zombie struck by Cupid manages to save before she's getting on the others undead daily menu. Further, as the trailer says "love conquers all" or different put, slowly the brain eater's heart starts to beat again (although his diet is kept the same for quite a while).

Sounds gross ? Well, it is. I don't have a problem with zombies devouring human people, seen that in countless movies, in much more graphical scenes than here. What I found disgusting is the way the subject is approached = it seems that nobody cares throughout the movie that the main hero in this story finds his lost humanity by chewing neurons at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And that's going past the absurdity of the idea itself which just shows how childish is the movie. The comedy side left me impassible. I don't remember anything from "Shaun of the Dead" except .. laughing with tears. Here, I don't know if I got past barely smiling, and probably not even that to frequent. The romance side I won't comment, maybe because I'm myself to zombie to be touched, or I'm way too far from the right mood to do it.

I was expecting more as I said, so maybe I'm a bit too acid. But the positive ratings that convinced me to see the movie are totally unjustified. There are probably two aspects to appreciate in this production: 1. that's the first time when I see as idea a phase of intermediate "zombies" in a post-apocalyptic front, which gives the possibility to have some nice turns in the battling forces 2. that the production doesn't take itself too seriously, as it happens with "Twilight" for instance, but that unfortunately doesn't save it from a main target: 12-16 + choose from: at most medium IQ or a sufficiently big alcohol intake.

Rating: 2 out of 5