See the pattern in my reviews of late? I've gone from a straightforward zombie movie to a semi-comedic one to an even less serious, if not more comedic, one. I'd been putting this off not simply because of the subgenre and some, eheh, lukewarm reviews but because the trailer seemed to give away everything. But maybe seven years after watching that trailer once, I could find it fresh enough.
The premises herein deviate from the norm to the point that "zombie" is almost misleading. Well into an outbreak, the protagonist (Nicholas Hoult) is a young adult shambler who can remember no more about his past life than his first initial, R, but still retains some semblance of personality for the nonce, as by collecting and playing vinyl records in a plane he inhabits alone. He feels bad about eating people, tho not so bad that he'd rather starve to a more complete death, and he dreads the day he'll embrace this identity in full. Also, eating brains both prevents the rise of a new zombie and allows him access to the memories contained therein. But apparently even before doing that to a certain Perry (Dave Franco), he takes a special interest in Perry's girlfriend, Julie (Teresa Palmer), and impulsively decides to help her survive. By and by, Julie can't help, y'know, warming up to him too.
This is not as gross as it sounds. Not only is R relatively tasteful-looking from the start, but the more he interacts with Julie, the less zombie-ish he becomes: more caring, more articulate, more coordinated... even less physically dead. By the time he makes a second fully living friend, he reportedly doesn't smell putrid. As R's comrades observe evidence that such a relationship might be feasible, it affects them as well.
In case you're wondering how we know R's thoughts so well, it's the present-tense first-person narration, which is more eloquent than he ever gets otherwise. Not quite as jarring as the horse narration in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, but it certainly establishes the offbeat atmosphere up front. I don't mind, because nearly all the humor lies in his human commentary.
One review I read declared this a worse love story than Twilight(!) on the grounds that Julie's feelings for her boyfriend's undead murderer are hard to buy. Well, there are a few factors to keep in mind besides what I've already mentioned. She doesn't immediately know for sure that R did it, and when he fesses up without prompting and apologizes, she doesn't exactly shrug it off. She had already been on the verge of breaking up with Perry, who'd become overzealous for zombie combat. She may feel very close to a prisoner when R keeps advising her not to leave yet, but it's no Beauty and the Beast-type Stockholm syndrome. His unprecedented behavior intrigues her. Personally, I'd hardly find R a catch at his best, but I understand the appeal of a guy you can surely change for the better.
Come to think of it, the names "R and Julie" are supposed to evoke Romeo and Juliet, who didn't have a very good basis for their own relationship. Adding to the parallels is Julie's father, Colonel Grigio (John Malkovich), in charge of protecting an outpost, who dismisses out of hand her hopes for zombie redemption. But as I surmised, it doesn't end in tragedy.
Lest you think this a story with no true villains, there are the farthest-gone zombies: identical, pitch-black near-skeletons slangily known as "bonies." Even other zombies have trouble getting along with them. I would say they've lost all humanity, except that they retain enough intelligence to deem R and Julie's romance a threat and target them in particular. If anything herein makes the horror label less than a joke, it's the bonies with their screams, savagery, and surprisingly fast running.
So, did the trailer give away everything? As far as laughs go, pretty much. As far as plot goes, almost. I think I predicted all the important parts that hadn't been spelled out, aside from precisely how characters' reactions shift.
So why do I rather like WB? Because it's for people who don't normally like zombie movies. It's downright uplifting. Practically a fairy tale, in a good way. At the same time, I half-empathize with the outpost dwellers who reflect on the good old days when more options were available.
I don't have any more zombie fare on my queue. If this is the last example I ever see, it's not a bad note to end on.
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