The Girl with All the Gifts

Melanie is one of the children carefully restrained in a military bunker. They are feared by the soldiers guarding them such as Sgt. Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine). Their teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) is touched by Melanie. The kids are actually experiments being conducted by Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close). The world has been devastated by a fungus which turns people into mindless killing zombies called Hungries.

The first twenty minutes start off great like an intriguing Twilight Zone episode. There is a point in the movie where an imaginative exposition is needed by Caldwell to explain the world and her experiment. I'm reminded of Hammond from Jurassic Park. When Caldwell brings in Melanie tied down on the gurney, it's the perfect spot where she could have done a presentation to a bunch of military brass. Instead, the audience has to piece this world together bit by bit. I do have problems with some of the pieces. They don't all fit together neatly. There is a final reveal that stretches the fit to its limit. There is a compelling battle for the humanity of Melanie between Miss Justineau and Caldwell but it needs some better writing. Despite the movie's shortcomings, it takes an interesting spin on the standard zombie genre.