Review: The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) ★★★

One of the primary issues plaguing modern horror is stories that often don’t have the legs to reach a satisfying conclusion; intriguing premises are born, live a short and mildly entertaining life, and then wither and die after the first hour or so. In the post-apocalyptic zombie film, this problem should theoretically be a thing of the past, as the genre requires narratives to move toward some kind of resolution: the survivors escape or destroy the zombies, they find a way to cope with the epidemic, or they fail and die. However, not all of these options are equal. Coping with a zombie apocalypse can be a difficult concept to pull off, as it may require audiences to suspend their disbelief to a greater degree. Despite this difficulty, it has been done in films before (I will not list them here so as not spoil endings for anyone). In The Girl with All the Gifts, the ending is not spoiled because the film, from start to finish, is about coping with the zombie apocalypse.

Naturally, as with almost all of these kinds of films, the remaining humans work tirelessly to rid the world of the zombies, but, in the temporary absence of such a cure, they learn to function in the defensive, barricading themselves behind walls until they can find a solution. It never abandons the idea that humanity, for better or worse, must try to flourish, no matter the cost. While The Girl with All the Gifts takes the genre in a new and interesting direction, it fails to maintain its narrative strength, ultimately descending into absurdity.

The film begins in a prison-like facility, where military personnel treat a group of children as dangerous prisoners. The children sleep in isolated cells, and must be kept in wheelchairs that restrain their head, hands, and feet whenever they are allowed to leave. While the children seem perfectly harmless, we come to find out that they are a special breed of infected zombies: they crave human flesh, but are still capable of communicating and exhibiting “normal” behavior. It is only by supplying the children with a diet of live worms and masking the scent of human flesh with a special gel that the remaining humans are able to control and study the children. One child in particular, Melanie (Sennia Nanua), shows particular aptitude and cheerfulness despite her circumstances, and her teacher, Helen (Gemma Arterton), rewards her with kindness, even though this is generally restricted at the facility. When Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) is close to finding a cure, a cure that will also kill Melanie in the process, the base is suddenly overrun by zombies (referred to as “Hungries” in the film), and a small group of survivors must try to escape with Melanie and reach another outlying base.

The Girl with All the Gifts does everything right to establish a good post-apocalyptic film: a small, isolated group of survivors, living under a unique set of rules, working tirelessly to find an end to the disease that has brought about the apocalypse, suddenly overrun by zombies. At times, the film resembles 28 Days Later (2002), both in the structure of the plot and, to a degree, the nature of the zombies. However, about two-thirds of the way through, the story takes a turn that is far-fetched and cloying. I won’t divulge how the story progresses, as it would spoil the entire film, but it must be said that the film’s second half isn’t nearly as good as the first.

When looking back at The Girl with All the Gifts as a whole, it is not just the ending that does the film in. Like many zombie horror films, it derives its entertainment value from pure adrenaline. From the moment the base is overrun, it becomes a heart-pounding race through endless hordes of zombies. It is effective at making the film highly entertaining, but it also distracts from the fact that, without the intrigue of the initial premise, there is just not much going on. The dialogue is predictable, the characters are all archetypes, the acting is mediocre, and when you combine this with a disappointing resolution, it makes the thrilling sequences feel retrospectively shallow.

If you love post-apocalyptic zombie films or are simply an avid fan of horror in general, The Girl with All the Gifts is certainly worth watching. But be warned, it will set your expectations high in the beginning, only to disappoint you later on.

Rating: ★★★ out of 5

If you’d like to watch The Girl with All the Gifts, it is available to purchase via Amazon here.