The Girl with All the Gifts is the latest 28 Days Later-esque movie to come out've the UK, where the infected are very zombie-ish, but not necessarily the dead come to life. Based on the popular novel by Mike Carey (who also adapts the script), the film takes place in a dystopian future, where most of the world has become infected by a virus that causes people to violently lash out at the living and feed on live meat; human or otherwise, it doesn't matter when they're hungry. The story focuses on a young infected girl named "Melanie," who looks and acts like a perfectly normal intelligent little girl, except for the fact that when she gets a whiff of your natural scent it turns her into a crazed eating machine.



Though against the rules, young Melanie becomes friends with her teacher "Helen" (Gemma Arterton) and that bond proves advantageous when the military facility that they're housed in suddenly becomes swarmed by the infected, leaving only a handful of them alive and in search for safety. Included in the group is the head doctor that was researching a vaccine played by Glenn Close and a military Sergeant played by Paddy Considine, along with a couple expendable soldiers. Much like similar tales before this, Melanie is special and could be the key to discovering a vaccine, so the group is tasked to protect her until they find the nearest populated military outpost, but their trek becomes more treacherous the farther they go.

I know a lot of fans are a bit tired of the zombie genre lately, but I try to keep somewhat of an open mind, and while this movie does borrow from a lot of other films, it manages to remain interesting and even offer some of its own unique aspects and stand out scenes. I especially liked the tense sequence involving the base getting overrun in the beginning and a scene later involving the group having to quietly walk passed dozens of "sleeping" zombies. I also liked how the girl Melanie was helpful, while at the same time a threat to the group, which proved to be an intriguing dynamic. There's also a neat infected feral children element towards the end that was interesting. The production values and performances are also surprisingly well done for a flick like this, and it was especially fascinating to see an actress like Glenn Close playing such a tough military character.



Praise aside, while the first half of the film is a pretty solid survival pic, things start to fall apart a little in the final bits of the third act, leading to kind of a mixed ending. I liked the ending to some extent, but it just didn't seem like they quite knew how to wrap things up properly and I would've preferred something a bit darker or more conclusive overall. The gore is also lacking at times, though there's a decent amount of blood. Either way, the film still ranks as one of the better infected/zombie-type movies I've seen in recent years.

The Girl with All the Gifts borrows from a lot of films, but still manages to be a solid watch thanks to an appealing premise, good performances, and high production values. I'd definitely recommend it for fans of infected/zombie movies, and especially if you dig films like 28 Days Later.