We read a graphic novel like this recently. It was something that I only knew the bare bones about and it succeeded in being wildly entertaining beyond our expectations. It’s not that there were low expectations; we just didn’t know enough about it on purpose. The Girl With All The Gifts is a zombie film like no other. It plays to a few zombie movie tropes while gathering up most of them and (thankfully) throwing them out the window. The result is an utterly original film that simmers at a low boil for a majority of the film, expertly weaving together a taut, disparate vision of the near future.
Suffice it to say that The Girl With All The Gifts is not for children. As a parent, in no way shape or form would I allow a child of mine 16 or under to watch this. It’s rated R for good reason due to language, graphic violence, disturbing images and perilous situations.
This is cheese-free zombie fun, that those 18 or older will absolutely love, presuming the like a couple of things. Do you love seeing zombies get shot in the head? Well, that’s just one of the few zombie tropes that The Girl With All The Gifts adheres to. These are fast moving zombies who turn the living into the undead after three minutes of being bitten. There’s the military that are in control of the quarantine area, large fence separating the zombies, as well as the sympathetic teacher/nurse character. However, after those similarities the zombie outbreak gets turned on its head and makes an otherwise dead genre movie crackle with life.
What audiences will immediately recognize is the film’s pacing. The first 25 minutes may seem slow, but it’s setting out the character traits that will manifest themselves throughout the rest of the film. Once the zombies enter the story, the film’s tension never lets up until the final couple of scenes. Even after the zombies are a moving part of the film they’re used in a way that other zombie films have failed to do previously.
The Girl With All The Gifts is sometimes shot using a handheld camera which gives the action sequences an added feel of danger and paranoia. Cristobal Tapia de Veer did the score for the film and it adds a whole different dimension to it. At times it’s soft industrial, other times Siberian distant and utterly haunting. It also fits the film perfectly, matching its dark tones with off kilter noise and then going back to piano. This is one of the best examples of a score that matches the film we’ve seen in a long time.
I don’t want to tell you too much about the plot because there are two large curves that you won’t see coming. They make total sense in retrospect, but sting a little bit when you first see them. As a zombie film this is easily the best one since 28 Days Later. It adds juice to the undead fire and reminds fans that it can still be a fun genre film to watch. As a film, The Girl With All The Gifts is a taut, violent, gory affair that is packed with action and consequences. For action fans it won’t be their typical time at the movies, but they’ll really enjoy themselves.
It’s also worth mentioning the budget. Made for only £4,000,000 (just under $6,000,000 at production time) it proves that something is wrong with the standard action/zombie/horror films that come out of Hollywood. That amount of money is a pittance compared to some of the films produced in L.A. that are nowhere near as scary or entertaining. Oh great, another re-boot of The Ring-made for $25,000,000! Hollywood should consider The Girl With All The Gifts the little engine that could and is doing it better than they are. Sci-fi fans who see this will quickly be buzzing about it to their friends-and rightly so.
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