The Girl With All The Gifts

Went to see The Girl With All The Gifts last night. Was in the unusual position of knowing almost nothing about it, except for a vague sense that it was kind of a zombie film but also a kind of British Drama thing.

My thoughts here will avoid major spoilers, but if you want to know nothing about it, you'd be better going to see it first. In fact, just go see it as soon as you can, because it's wonderful.

Wonder Girl

My main thoughts while watching were basically variations of "This is awesome. This is so well made. This is one of my favourite films already." It's basically the opposite to the thoughts and feelings I had while watching Suicide Squad.

Also ticking away was a thought that any gamer will have when watching this film, which is, "The Last of Us. This is like The Last of Us. Quite a lot."

Not that it shares the plot, so don't worry that I've just blown the narrative. GWATG is very much its own thing, and has a distinctive spirit and tone. But if you've played The Last of Us (which you certainly should have) you'll find some of the plot beats quite familiar. And the mise en scene is strongly reminiscent of the overgrown, deserted cityscapes that greet Joel and Ellie.

Girl Friend

The film follows a trend which I've seen developing over the last few years: the zombie as a sympathetic figure. From The Returned to In The Flesh to Warm Bodies, zombies (or things very much like zombies) have started to become more than faceless, shuffling monsters. They are sad, vulnerable, sometimes likeable. I wonder what that is about?

Are there any games following this trend? I'd be interested to see. And I'm curious as to what the trend means. Zombies have always had a significant symbolic purpose in culture, from the Western fear of foreigners in White Zombie to the directionless of 21st Century existence in Shaun of the Dead. So what does it mean when the zombies become likeable?

I'm aware that this is two blogs about zombies in a row, and neither have focused much on games. But we're talking about wider issues than just playing games here, I think. 

Anyway, go see this film. It is marvellous.