A beautiful film in regards to its humanity as shared through the film's characters.
A family is confronted by their teenage daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) who is contaminated with a dreadful disease which is Zombieism. She did not catch it inadvertently but caught it by having been bitten while out in an escapade on a night out when the town was invaded by zombies when she new it was forbidden to go. Teenage rebellion against the family like the two brats in the movie 28 weeks later that caused the destruction of London and Paris.
Now, this movie depicts what it would be like if a member of a family would be confronted with a contagious disease which is irreversible and that only the death of the infected one can preserve the safety of the others.
Indeed, the movie goes on a step by step development of the contagion of Maggi and the results on her environment such as family, friends and other members such as the police, doctor which will lead her at the end to commit suicide.
The only problem I have with the movie is this: Can life continue as usual with an extreme infected member of the family? Further more, with such an infection in this case Zombieism, at what moment does Maggie lose her humanity since all along the movie it is said that she should be quarantined ipso facto. A reference to the Anne Frank Diaries is a must to understand life as usual in extreme conditions.
In fact, all along the movie she shows no loss of her humanity. We can clearly see this in the scene where Wade Voegel (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sleeping on a sofa and Maggie approaches and smells him. Her transformation to a complete zombie has not yet peaked to the irreversible.
However, if the doctor and police insist she be put away, have they lost their humanity knowing there is nothing that can be done and to save the rest of the population Maggie must be killed? Who is truly human here?
We can also ask, how far will a family go in denial or semi-denial? Does denial mean keeping one eye open while sleeping?
At the end, she commits the inevitable by putting an end to her life.
I ask myself this question: Was she dead at the moment she was bitten and her loving family going into denial or did slowly die as to have a family act in a way to have her live live as long as possible with them showing the last of their humanity as they know it when she dies.
As Hamlet would state it: To kill her immediately or not to kill her immediately, that is the question.
