Warm Bodies (2013)

“Don't be creepy! Don't be creepy!”

            Two of my brothers and our best friend are obsessed with zombies. The Walking Dead is promptly on our TV at nine o’clock every Sunday. I can take it or leave it with zombie stories. I really enjoyed Night of the Living Dead that had a great story and of course it is the beginning of the zombie genre (is there a “zombie genre” or did I just make it up?)When I saw the commercial for Warm Bodies I thought it looked good but in the back of my mind it looked like a crappy teen movie. My one brother Christian wanted to see it since he loves zombies. Even though he is thirteen I trust his judgment… well to an extent but in this instance I trusted him and I also really wanted to hang out with him since we barely see each other during the week with our school and after school/work schedules. Warm Bodies turned out to be surprisingly very good.

            The movie is told through the point of view of R. He goes simply by R because ever since he was turned into a zombie he cannot remember his name all he can remember is that his name began with an R. R wanders around an airport with other zombies as well as what they call “bonies” zombies that are just bones. If he had a best friend it would be M. They manage to communicate in only two or three words that they are hungry and want to go out to get some food. They travel in a slow pack into town to find any humans they can.

            In town at the same time are a group of humans named Julie, Perry, and Nora along with some other people. They are from a section of town or better yet a military base that has been blocked off by Julie’s father. The group is sent on a mission to get medication from a lab. At the lab they are attacked by the pack of zombies that R is traveling in. Perry makes the mistake of shooting R. R gets pissed off, swipes Perry’s legs out from under him, and knocks him to the floor. R grabs hold of Perry’s head and smashes it to eat the brains since as he says is the best part to eat. He sees Julia cowering on the floor. Whatever remnant of a conscious he has makes him save Julie by covering her human scent and taking her back to the airport.

            R keeps Julie in a plane he has made his home. She is not thrilled about having to stay with R especially since her father brain washed her that they are terrible. R manages to get across that she needs to stay because it is safe. She believes him after she tries to get away and is almost attacked by several wandering zombies. He says she has to stay with him for a few days until the next search for food. In the time Julie is with him they become friends. R begins to change he begins to speak in fuller sentences and the color is returning to his face.

            In the meantime, M begins to remember certain things about being human. The other zombies around him begin to change as well. The bonies come close to attacking M and the other zombies because their heart beat. They notice they are changing.

            Julie eventually returns home. She tells Nora about R and she actually misses him since he was so nice to her. From eating Perry’s brain R can see some of Perry’s memories. He sees how Julie and Perry were able to escape their walled world to the outside R goes to Julie at her house. With her and Nora’s help R is cleaned up. Julie wants to take him to her father to show him that the zombies are changing they becoming human again.

            Julie’s father will have none of it and almost shoots R dead until he hears that over his walkie from his men that the zombies are attacking the bonies. R and Julie try to run away together. They come to a door that leads to a fall drop. To save Julie, R takes her puts his back to the ground as a cushion and falls. When they come up out of the water they fell into R has become a full human again.

            I really liked Warm Bodies because the story was not all about doom and the end of the world. Whenever I watch a zombie movie I always feel bad for the people who were turned into zombies and wish they could go back to being human so the zombies in this story going back to being human was perfect for me. It was also a nice kind of love story that was not cheesy or teeny bopper. When the movie was over I turned to Christian and said that I cannot wait for this to be out on Blu Ray I will own it the day it comes out. Christian agreed he liked the movie as well. Warm Bodies is definitely worth seeing in theaters it was great to see a different kind of zombie story being told.