Who says that all zombie movies are a gory, bloody mess?

Who says that all zombies are creepy undead people whose only desire is to kill and create more zombies?

Well, be prepared to change your ideas of these creatures when you watch the zombie romance film Warm Bodies, directed by Jonathan Levine.

The film Warm Bodies, based on the novel written by Isaac Marion, tells the story from a teenage zombie’s point of view.  R, the teenager, wishes he could relate to people the way in which he did before becoming this monster. Although R cannot speak in full sentences, he communicates to the audience through his thoughts, which are surprisingly still quite vibrant and full of a typical teenager’s zeal for life.  His thoughts reveal that, through a dangerous virus, people are transforming into undead monster-like zombies. The few uninfected people take high precautions to keep these monsters away by building a thick fort around the city and security-screening every person entering the city.

Every so often, city officials send out a group of people to venture outside the safety of the fort to replenish basic supplies. Julie, a human adolescent girl, a newly chosen supply provider, must travel out into the world of the living dead.

Unfortunately for the humans, every undead individual can smell a live human heartbeat from miles away. As soon as the supply group begins their search, zombies and skeletons are hot on their tails.

Catching up to the human scavengers, the zombies begin their attack for food. R, who happens to be amongst the zombie killers, enlightens us to a little known fact about zombies… zombies do not mean to be savages – they just cannot help themselves!

The zombie-narrator even has the decency to ask the audience to look away from his zombie-actions out of embarrassment and shame for his inability to overcome his zombie instincts. R begins to ravage through the supply group until his eyes fall on Julie.

Enraptured by her fighting style and beauty (accentuated by slow-motion effects), R  make sure she survives the raids on the supply group. Forgetting his zombie nature, he fights to get close to her and covers her human scent.  Realizing that Julie may be his only chance to be able to talk to humans again, he takes her back to where he “lives” and tries to keep her comfortable.

This movie is a great escape into the unreal world of zombies to watch with friends who don’t mind a small amount of blood on the screen and a few inappropriate curses. Parents should be aware that the movie is PG-13 so it may not be suitable for the entire family, especially ones with small kids.

Overall the movie can hold the attention of even the most picky movie-watcher by offering humor, action, and a sweet romance.