Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

A little girl in a Hannibal Lecter mask often fills the entire frame in the new zombie film The Girl With All the Gifts. What once felt like a subgenre picked of every creative bit of flesh is given some new meat with this original film by director Colm McCarthy. This central image is disturbing and generally upsetting and yet stands as an example of the thoughtful direction McCarthy brings to the table in his debut.

The film opens with Melanie, a truly stunning performance by Sennia Nanua, getting wheeled into a fluorescent-lit classroom. She is wheeled there because she like all the other children in the classroom are strapped to wheelchairs. Even their forehead is bound by a leather strap. From here, the film begins to reveal its world and unique take on the zombie genre. We are introduced to some several key players early on. Helen (Gemma Arterton) is a sympathetic schoolteacher who sees the children as partially human. Sgt. Eddie Parks (Patty Considine) is on the other end of the spectrum and sees everything as a threat.  There is also a cruel scientist played by Glenn Close who is seeking a cure at any cost.

To detail too much of the rule laid forth here would ruin one of the film's great pleasures. The Girl With All the Gifts knows it's audience is familiar with the genre and thus plays against what we might expect. This is particularly true of the emotional undercurrent the film captures. This largely is credited to Sennia Nanua's performance that centers the film even in its most familiar moments.

And the film does have its familiar moments to be fair. Not everything is new territory. The point A to point B structure feels particular well worn. However, McCarthy has an eye for bursts of gory violence that help shake things up often.

The Girl With All the Gifts will delight fans of both Young Adult stories and zombie fans. It is a unique take on a tired subgenre that showcases the promise of a talented director. McCarthy is certainly one to watch and so is Nanua for her fantastic performance.

4/5