In search of a zombie film with intelligence as well as gore?
The Girl with All the Gifts is a refreshing spin on a familiar zombie flick. The director Colm McCarthy creates a mass destructive world on a restricted budget gearing his focus on characters instead of gore and guts. This film is unsettling and filled with gloom and disaster, but the climatic story line and performances are sophisticated and satisfying. The Girl with All the Gifts takes place in a future where the world has been taken over by a fungus that turns people into "hungries". These beings hunt it's prey and gobble down on human flesh. The film begins inside a military outpost, where research is being conducted on special children who are fighting their urge of their zombie instinct. These children are imprisoned in a cell-like room with a bed and strapped into wheelchairs whenever they are attending class outside of that room.
The survivors are trying to find a cure, which is why the special children attend their experimental class. There is one young girl who stands out from everyone. Melanie displays intelligence as well as self control. As the viewer, we fall in love with Melanie because she's so sweet and cute. We don't really know why she's in this compound. We also notice that one of the teachers named Helen seems to have a special connection with Melanie. When Helen begins to get too close to Melanie, another teacher warns her that they aren't children; instead, they are monsters. As the viewer, we learn that these children are infected. Once there is an outbreak in their compound, the survivors along with Melanie must venture out across the land that's infested with "hungries". The zombies in The Girl with All the Gifts aren't in packs nor are they running wild. These zombies are triggered through fast movement or loud sound. It's as if they hear a loud noise and they come back alive and ready to violently feed.
The director did an amazing job with the different levels of suspense and action throughout this film. This film is filled with intensity, grotesque zombies, and overall pure horror. It's also compelling to watch Melanie begin to understand her evolution. The actress who played Melanie, Sennia Nanua, is very impressive with the way she mixes terror with innocence. I'm really looking forward to seeing where her career takes her. The rest of the cast did an awesome job as well.
When it comes to The Girl with All the Gifts, the less you know the better because it is filled with plenty of surprises. This film is a horror with plenty of drama. Overall, I highly recommend The Girl with All the Gifts because it is a refreshing spin on zombies. It is by far one of the most layered zombie films I have come across.
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