Color me surprised, but I actually liked Warm Bodies. More than I thought I would. I really wasn't expecting the type of movie this turned out to be because I remember seeing the Trailer for this when it was just hitting the big screen and it played more comical (as in going for the cheap laughs). I thought this was going to be a spoof of Zombie flicks. Boy, I was way off on that assumption. How could you not think that it would be that when you have the most unlikeliest romance ever: A Girl falls for a Zombie. Exactly.

Well, lets get into the nitty gritty of why I liked this movie. For starters, this Zombie flick felt fresh and reinvigorating. With the exception of The Walking Dead, I'm beyond done with the genre as a whole because it's the same damn plot over and over. Notable exceptions would be Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. So what makes this one different then? For starters, it's from the point of view of R (Nicholas Hoult), the Zombie who falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer). It sounds hokey in the way I've just set it up, but it's really a nice change of pace. Very poignant that actually has some depth working for it. It's a "serious" movie in that the emotions are real (well, as real as it can get in Hollywood, but you get the idea). But there are a couple of funny moments were the laughs are genuine instead of a joke being rammed down our throats.

Here's the oddest thing and the biggest win for me while watching Warm Bodies. It actually felt like I was watching a John Hughes movie in a way because of the characters, because of the inner monologue and because of how the movie is paced. I think this is EXACTLY the type of Zombie flick he would have made if he were still around today decided he wanted to try his hand in the genre. Obviously, a lot of the inspiration for this movie derives from Edward Scissorhands and I like the parallels of both films. They would make a great double-feature on a Saturday Night for sure.

I love how then incorporated the music into this one as well without it trying to force music "montages" on the viewer, when in actuality, that's exactly what they are doing. It just never felt like it. Always a plus in my book. Definitely worth a Rent. Give it a shot. I would definitely watch this one again if I came across it on TV. It's also got Rob Corddry in this and he's great in it.

PS
Now I'm wishing that John Hughes had done a Zombie flick just to see what he could have done with it. Well, Warm Bodies kinda does fill that void at least.

Ugh... really disliked this movie for said 'hokiness'. I like fresh and different, but Warm Bodies wasn't the fresh direction I was looking for.

Then again Stalled, which I watched recently was just as, no... more dumb than this. Not even worth writing about. I liked it was different, but again, it just wasn't what I was looking for.