Warm Bodies is an interesting zombie flick because it plays cleverly with the established conventions of the genre. R (Nicholas Hoult) is a zombie who isn't comfortable with his status as a walking corpse - he gets bored, has feelings, can communicate in minimal ways, and even has a friend. When he saves the life of Julie (Teresa Palmer) they start to develop a relationship that is unconventional and original cinematically. R shows sympathy and empathy for Julie and is immediately drawn to her in a way you wouldn't expect from a typical zombie. Something stirs inside of him when he first sees her.
R brings Julie back to his homeland and his abode is an abandoned airplane. This situation allows for interesting soundtrack possibilities because R owns an record player and interesting assortment of vinyl records. I was happy to hear Bob Dylan's "Shelter From The Storm" played appropriately on the soundtrack. One other interesting twist on the zombie genre is the walking dead's ability to have memories of their victims after they eat their brains. When R initially kills and eats the brain of Julie's boyfriend, we are allowed an interesting glimpse into the boy's past and his relationship with Julie. This allows for additional character development on the part of Julie.
There are some weak points in the film however. Some things that occur defy believability as when Julie doesn't put up a fight when she is somewhat forcefully brought to R's homeland. Also she doesn't show much remorse over the death of her boyfriend.
John Malkovich has a supporting role as Julie's father that is stereotypical, lacking in depth, and unoriginal.
There are some warm moments in Warm Bodies and it has fun with the conventions of the zombie genre. Teens will probably enjoy it more than adults but it is worth seeing.
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