Warm Bodies (*** out of ****)

Warm Bodies is pleasant enough that it can attract and keep many an audience. That's what happens when you make an original comedy/action/horror/romance. It's Twilight for people would don't like Twilight, but can also attract that group of fans. It's not great cinema, but it has a lot going for it.

The world has been overrun by zombies. Humans now crowd themselves behind walled off sections of cities. One of these zombies wonders around the airport, unable to remember his past or his name, so he goes by the letter he believes his name began with, R. Nicholas Hoult plays this zombie with a great attention to detail, letting his movement and eyes do most the talking. He's looking to make a connection in this strange world. While looking for some humans to eat one day, he sees Julie (Teresa Palmer). R has just finished eating some of her boyfriend's brains (which gains you that person's memories), and he is overcome by Julie. He saves her from the zombie swarm and promises to bring her back to her home. Something is changing about R, his heart is moving again. Although none of this maters to Julie's father (John Malkovich), who looks to re-kill these corpses anyway he can.

Hoult and Palmer have some good chemistry together. They make interesting characters already stronger. In fact the entire cast (Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, and Analeigh Tipton as well) keep the film rolling. Director Jonathan Levine knows to create charm does so through music and giving the actors something to actually do. Warm Bodies borrows and pays tribute to many other works. Little touches of H.P Lovecraft, Shakespeare, and George Romero are scattered throughout. Warm Bodies loses points in it's linear and paper thin story. It's original and fun, but still has plenty of cliches. Almost as if they're not sure what genre they're in their in at the moment. However for what it's worth, Warm Bodies often works its wild fantasy.

*** out of ****

Mama (*** out of ****)

First time feature film director Andres Muschietti has made one of the scariest horror movies in recent memory. Veteran Guillermo Del Toro helped get the film off the ground and you can see his fingerprints scattered throughout the film. Last year Del Toro aided in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which felt like it was a english made Del Toro horror film (then again he did help write the screenplay), Mama is more of a straight horror movie with some inspiration by Del Toro mechanics. Whatever it is the film has character development, genuine terror, a sense of constructed lore, great visuals, and an understanding of what goes bump in the night.

Two young girls are found in a cabin in the woods after being missing for five years. Professionals are dumbfounded by how they survived. The girl's uncle Lucas (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau) wants to take care of them, much to the dismay of his serious girlfriend Annabelle (Jessica Chastain). However the girl's didn't come to their new home alone. 

Mama has a clear sense of purpose. It's telling a theme of motherhood in the horror world. It largely succeeds at this. The scare mechanics are also very well done. Some jump scares but refreshingly there is plenty of atmosphere scares as well. If there is a sound from another room, there is actually something threatening there. This way there is the sense that anything could go wrong at any given moment. Some will argue that showing "Mama" too early ruins the terror from the mystery. You see the argument in many horror films, when do you show the monster? It doesn't when if what you build around it is good. "Mama" feels threatening from the beginning and does through almost the entire film, Muschietti does fine with it. There are however some loose plot points here. This creates a decent amount of confusion. So character's behave foolishly but it's not clear if these people are that way or if there is something missing from the film. Perhaps with some deleted scenes or an extended version things will be cleared up. Regardless Mama is a heart racer. 

*** out of ****