Argh, zombies! Fear not, this is a zombie movie with heart. Clever zombies.

The Girl On The Train is not the only Girl and novel adaptation we should be talking about this month.

It's not a carefully guarded secret that I am not a fan of horror movies. Not so much because I dislike them, but because I simply am that terrified of them. That said, I was really looking forward to watching The Girl With All The Gifts, a post-apocalyptic zombie film based on M.R. Carey's critically acclaimed novel. And I wouldn't class it as straight horror so I can happily watch it! It's tense, but with a mixture of thriller/horror/drama/sci-fi that draws parallels to others of the zombie genre, particularly 28 Days Later, yet also brings something new and very interesting: brains, and love. Yep, love.

It's set in the future, and before the film even begins, humanity has been pretty much wiped out by a mutated fungal disease which turns people into flesh-eating mindless zombies aka "hungries". And watch out for the jaws, because they're the freakiest jaws I've seen since Jaws. A British film, it takes place in a military base in England where children who appear partially immune and therefore retain thinking and feeling, are studied in a desperate search for a cure. They are taught by the empathetic Miss Justineau (Gemma Arterton), and it soon becomes apparent that the girl in question, ten year old Melanie, is different. She's special, and her 'gifts' include inquisitiveness and imagination - with the intelligence of Matilda and naivety of Jack from Room. Plus, she has a special bond with her teacher which is a relationship that runs throughout the film and provides powerful familial pondering. After the collapse of the base, it's all to play for as it feels like you're walking through a roleplay game like The Last of Us - except with no clear end point. It's a tale of survival. But whose?

One of the immediate differences is the use - and important - of children. Second generation "hungries", they're subordinate and basically prisoners. Are the kids zombies? Are they human? The treatment of these kids is a bit tough to watch, especially when they are completely unaware and haven't even registered that "anything bad" is going on. The child actors across the board are truly excellent; in fact, leaving the screening that's all viewers were talking about. In particular, newcomer Sennia Nanua (who plays Melanie) shines brightly with the ability to portray sincere worldly innocence, self-discovery, intelligence, steely determinism and a darker, hungry side. As she enters the real world, she absorbs and learns like a sponge, almost mimicking like a robot which can have quite the range of outcomes - and there's also a visible internal struggle at times. Watch out for the smart device of her interaction with a cat that changes as she changes. And all the while, she's growing up which introduces a bizarre coming-of-age point of view.


The small group of leading cast members come close in brilliance. There's Gemma Arterton playing the caring Miss Justineau, the film's ostensible 'goodie'...although she's adamant she is in fact "not a good person". The line offers a deeper glimpse into her character, but it's not backed up and is left at that. What we do get is haunted and challenged bravery, and some touching moments with Melanie, as well as a contrast to the icy Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close). Close combines ruthlessness with mad scientist, but it's her interaction with Melanie, and her desperation for a cure that successfully shows all the facets to her character. First she wanted to skin all the dalmatian puppies and now she wants to cut these kids up. Completing the cast are only two more actors - Paddy Considine who plays tough soldier Sergeant Parks, and Fisayo Akinade who plays slightly more annoying soldier Kieran.

There's a gradually plot unveiling chunk by chunk, and it is satisfying how you discover more and more as the film progresses. I guess it runs in parallel with Melanie's own journey. Pace-wise, it keeps you on the edge of your seat with some deliberately slow, eerie scenes. I didn't have any cushions to hide behind so I was firmly hiding behind my hand. It is a film that gives answers, but raises bigger questions, and the final scenes are murkier though still suspenseful. It's tense throughout, aided by the clunky and repetitive, hypnotic music that gives me chills just by thinking about it. Overkill in some places, but freakishly effective in others.

If you are a horror fan and loyal fan to the zombie-kind, you won't be disappointed. There are scares with the actual zombies, especially one dead silent scene which involves tiptoeing through a crowded maze of them, and one that gruesomely rivals Lord of the Flies. It can be graphic, with death by bullet or bite being a common occurrence, and the goosebumpin' image of Melanie wearing a blood-drenched shirt and a muzzle. There's also something for the more squeamish, as there are clever, funny quips in the script and the British apocalypse also offers low chuckles of laughter as the camera pans to the fallen retailers such as Next. Perhaps they should've done BHS instead. This is what a broken Britain looks like folks! If you're a fan of the novel, it should have your boxes ticked, though I have heard it differs slightly in the closing segment.

A gloomy future is shown in The Girl With All The Gifts, but what exactly is the future going to be? I kept guessing throughout, and I was still caught off-guard. I demand a sequel! Led by a fearless Nanua, surely one to watch, the outstanding cast elevate the film to its full potential. Director Colm McCarthy has done a great job, as has author/screenwriter M.R. Carey. Apparently the budget was £4 million, which is small for a film that feels quite big budget. It pays for a lot of scary zombie extras, and the specially selected special effects really pay off too. It stands out because there are layers, moral exploration, identity crises and surprise twists. How strange that the world's biggest threat is also their only hope. It's thought-provoking and manages to balance that alongside scaring the hell out of you - but the creepiness isn't even the priority. The Girl With All The Gifts breathes new life into the zombie story.