‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ review: “Up there with 28 Days Later…”

The Girl With All The Gifts review: Paddy Considine and Gemma Arterton team with Glenn Close for this new zombie movie set in a dystopian future.

The Girl With All The Gifts review by Luke Ryan Baldock, September 2016.

Zombie films have had quite the run since the 2000s, with run being the operative word when discussing the increased speed of the undead. You’d think that they would have had their day, yet filmmakers continue to surprise us with interesting settings, social commentary, and set-pieces. However, you won’t find the word zombie in this adaptation of Mike Carey’s novel, settling instead on ‘Hungaries’ as the name for these fungally infected mindless humans that love to devour people.

Set in a dystopian future (but thankfully not a YA dystopian future, humanity is secluded in gated off communities. Under the ground in a research base live a number of soldiers, doctors, and even teachers, who look after a range of children who display independent cognitive thought, but also crave human flesh when struck by the smell of humans. Head of the class is Melanie (Sennia Nanua), who has all the answers, as well as feeling very close to teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton). After the base is attacked, Justineau and Melanie escape, along with Doctor caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close), Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), and Privates Gallagher (Fisayo Akinade) and Dillon (Anthony Welsh).  While travelling to a safe place, Melanie proves to be very useful, but can she resist her violent nature?

At the centre of this is a debate of nature versus nurture. Despite being forced to live under suspicion and in horrible confined conditions, with the majority of guards talking to her like an animal, Melanie acts pleasant, says her pleases and thank yous, and learns the names of everyone she interacts with. It’s a stunning performance by youngster Nanua, who seems wonderful in every way, until she releases her inner beast, becoming a violent and feral blur from hell. The two performances aren’t always separate though, as she adapts to her environment and realises survival takes a good mix between friendly and furious. Far from a one woman show, Arterton, Considine, and Close all add to the meat of the film thanks to their interactions with Melanie. Arterton presents a caring maternal figure, with Close being more callous and focused on human survival, while Considine seems like a generic warrior at first before realising Melanie’s potential.

Mike Carey adapts his own novel with a screenplay that perfectly captures comedy, subtlety, terror, and subtext. The dialogue is used sparingly, and there are plenty of moments of downtime that let the characters grow. We also see Melanie discover herself in beautiful sequences where she explores an empty city, able to walk among the Hungries as she doesn’t smell the same as humans. As she contemplates what exactly she is, and where she fits in the world, we see parallels with society and how it needs to adapt for the youth of today. But if all that sounds too somber and preachy, neverfear, for there is masses of tension, and exciting action.

The Girl with All the Gifts proves that the zombie genre has plenty of life left in it, even if it does try to distance itself with a few twists to the lore. It remembers that horror is only as powerful as its characters, while leaving a lot of food for thought as to whether we should be happy or sad at the final outcome. Intelligent, creepy, and tiring in the best way, The Girl with All the Gifts is up there with 28 Days Later…

The Girl with All the Gifts review by Luke Ryan Baldock, September 2016.

The Girl with All the Gifts is released on 23rd September.