Based on M.R. Carey’s novel of the same name. The Girl with All the Gifts is set in a dystopian future, humanity is forced to survive against ‘hungries’, humans affected by fungal infection which turns them into mindless beasts. Amongst these survivors, a band of Soldiers and Scientists must protect a young girl who maybe mankind’s last hope.
It wouldn’t be right to describe The Girl with All the Gifts as a Zombie film, given that the creatures are in fact being controlled by a fungal parasite, but with that being said – the movie is still the best Zombie film of the decade.
While the film initially appears to be a cross between George Romero’s Day of the Dead and Danny Boyle’s reinvention of the franchise 28 Days Later, by the end it begins to feel more akin to the 2013 video game, The Last of Us. The story opening with a handful of soldiers and scientists working to find a cure to plague in an underground facility located in rural Britain, this involves experimentation on a group of children who despite being affected with the same brain fungus, still retain their human-like behavior. It doesn’t take long before the base is overrun and the survivors are forced to make their way across the British countryside with one of the hybrid children.
These survivors include Gemma Artertons kindly teacher Helen Justineau, Paddy Considine who channels Christopher Eccleston’s 28 Days Later role (Albeit with out the Rape part) in gruff soldier, Sgt. Eddie Parks and Glenn Close’s Dr. Caroline Caldwell, a scientist determined to save the planet at whatever cost. All of these actors play their parts well, with Glenn Close doing a particularly good job as a character with an altering motive and Considine, whose character goes from initially despising the hybrids to eventually caring for one.
The biggest impact of the film comes in the form of Sennia Nanua’s as Melanie, the film’s titular Girl with all the Gifts. Nanua manages to enrapture the innocence of a youngster yet also understanding the danger she poses to her friends. Over the course of the film, the characters eyes are opened to the wider world and eventually the role she will play in crafting the new one.
The biggest complaint that I had with the film was the film’s final act, while it steered away from the typical finale of simply throwing more Zombies into the mix, the threat it replaced it with seemed to be come someone what out of the left field and ended up feeling somewhat lackluster. Perhaps if we had managed to see more of the world outside of the small handful of characters, it would have made more sense. Similarly, there is a scene involving Dr. Caldwell learning something new about the infected which is not picked up again at any point in the film.
On the whole, The Girl with All the Gifts is an exciting film with plenty of interesting ideas and featuring some impressive performances from the film’s cast. It should definitely be remembered as one of the better Zombie movies of recent years, something which shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish in the age of Scouts Guide to the Apocalypse and the Resident Evil Franchise.