Everyone loves a zombie flick, and everyone loves a good rom-com, but they're not usually the same movie. That's where Warm Bodies comes in. I dare you to name a better romantic comedy where the male lead eats someone's brain. Struggling? Well, you're lucky it's just been added to Netflix (one of the best streaming services).
Usually describing an actor as like a zombie is anything but a compliment. However, in this undead retelling of Romeo & Juliet, Nicholas Hoult shines as an awkward undead shambling around an airport, desperate for purpose. R (he can't quite remember his name) isn't like other zombies, he loves vinyl records and actually feels emotions.
But he does still eat brains, and that's how our two star-crossed lovers actually meet. On a supply run in the post-apocalypse our Juliet (or rather Julie, played by Teresa Palmer), stumbles upon a pack of zombies, including R, who attack and kill her boyfriend. I've had a few tough first dates but wow, that's a bumpy start.
With Julie in danger, R does something unprecedented. He kidnaps her, sparing her life. From there the rom in this rom-com begins, but whoever R was before he turned, he definitely wasn't a natural ladies' man. Attempts to befriend Julie more often than not end with one of the two of them screaming. But why has he saved her?
Part horror movie and part awkward teenage romance, there's nothing quite like Warm Bodies. It's not always pretty but there's a real sweetness and positivity in the connection of our leads. The Romeo and Juliet allegory is a neat trick as well with characters even playing the equivalents to secondary characters like The Nurse and Mercutio. Despite the dire state of the world, this is definitely an uplifting story which asks, what really makes us human?
If you're sick of cookie-cutter rom-coms or want a change of pace from your typical zombie flick then you can't go wrong with Warm Bodies. And if you're a grade-A coward like me, don't worry, it's not that scary.
