The Girl With All the Gifts

The Girl With All the Gifts

Starring Gemma Arterton, Sennia Nanua, Glenn Close, Paddy Considine

Directed by Colm McCarthy

The Story:
In a dystopian future, the world is overtaken by a fungal disease that takes over the brain and turns its hosts into flesh-eating cannibals.  In a military station, Melanie (Sennia Nanua) and a group of other children are being held in restraints because they're the next generation, kids born with the disease yet still somehow showing signs of human capacity.  Melanie takes a liking to teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton), and when the base is overrun, they manage to escape with Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close) - who wants to dissect Melanie to find a cure for the disease - and Sgt Parks (Paddy Considine).  As the group traverses the new world in order to find other survivors, Melanie begins to fully realize who she is and what she has to offer to the world, and the ultimate cost she would have to pay.

The Synopsis:
I am addicted to everything zombie.  "The Walking Dead" is amazing, I love George A. Romero, and I just can't get enough.  Yet I've seen some truly abysmal zombie movies, and also some stellar ones.  Fortunately, "The Girl With All the Gifts" (based off a novel by M.R. Carey) falls on the stellar side of the spectrum, due to a unique spin on the genre, a solid script, amazing set pieces and costume designs, gore, and a highly capable cast.

You can tell the different influences the film takes from in its tale, while somehow still retaining a sense of originality and excitement.  Much like "The Walking Dead," they travel the world and sees what disarray it's found itself in.  Like "28 Days Later," the film has a military aspect and gives the zombies a new purpose: they can once again run at full force, and they're not typical zombies - they've been plagued by a fungal virus that changes their brain structure and turns them into mindless killers.  Like "Z Nation" they're traveling with someone who could be a cure for humanity.  Like "The Last of Us," there's a story between a reluctant father figure and a young girl who could hold the key to survival.  Yet even with those influences, the story seems fresh and new, with equal parts thrills and dramatic performances that sets itself apart from the zombie subgenre.

The cast is top notch, with the standout being young Sennia Nanua as Melanie, who plays her part to perfection as she comes to terms with who she really is, and what she has to offer to this new world.  She's more than a pawn, but someone who's very intelligent and quick on her feet, and who helps the group out of several jams.  Yet there's always that foreboding about her, wondering if and when she would revert to her second nature and attack those around her.  It's this constant sense of dread that drives the movie to fantastic proportions, as you begin feeling deep emotions for the girl, yet you never know when she'll turn bad - or if she will at all.

Gemma Arterton and Paddy Considine also give great performances, yet it seems their characters are never fully developed to their full potential.  Glenn Close - the most well-known name in the cast - truly shines as Dr. Caldwell, a woman bent on finding a cure for the disease at any cost, yet never resorting to the atypical evil doctor stereotype.  She plays the role as humanly as possible, and you even begin feeling emotions toward her character as well, which is attributed to Close's stellar abilities.

As we see the new world, we're marveled at the close attention to detail director Colm McCarthy treats the world.  You can tell it's been awhile since things were normal, as buildings have started growing moss, roads are overrun with plants, and nature is slowly taking back what was hers.  That's another aspect to the story that is unique and powerful - after the fungus fully takes over, it treats the human host as a sort of incubator, growing spores out of them in a way that proves nature will always revert back to its original state.  We may thing we own the world, but the world truly belongs to nature.

Much like other zombie movies, the gore and blood is plentiful, along with the suspense and action.  When the survivors slowly walk through a horde (covering their scent because they're only located due to it), you can cut the tension with a knife, and as the zombies make mincemeat of the people, you see the guts in all its glory.  For a low budget film, it's refreshing to see practical use of makeup and design instead of relying on CGI for everything.

The Summary:
As a sum of its parts, "The Girl With All the Gifts" has all the gifts you can give to a zombie-loving enthusiast, as well as people who are tired of the subgenre by offering a fresh take on the apocalypse, with a standout cast and a solid script.

The Score: A