The Girl with all the Gifts

England in the not-too-distant future: aggressive fungal spores have turned most humans into savage, flesh-eating zombies. There is, however, a small glimmer of hope: a group of infected children can still communicate normally and have their hunger for human flesh largely under control. It is they with whose help scientist Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close) hopes to gain a cure for the infection at a military base. When the base is overrun by the zombies, Caldwell manages to escape along with young schoolteacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton), Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine) and a girl named Melanie (Sennia Nanua). As the only survivor of the group of children, Melanie is now the last hope for humanity - if the small group will survive the search for a safe haven.

If there's one horror genre that's a little overused at the moment, it's undoubtedly the undead. Zombies currently dominate cinema, television, graphic novels and videogames. And while there are some truly original ideas every now and then, it seems like everything has really been told about zombies. The Girl with all the Gifts manages the feat of adding something surprising to the mix. Director Colm McCarthy (Peaky Blinders, Sherlock) uses many familiar set pieces to create something refreshingly unused.

With fairly simple means, he creates a gripping end-times atmosphere in which genuine tension can develop even in quieter moments. Using a mixture of The Walking Dead and Flowers of Terror, McCarthy creates a bleak future scenario that, at first glance, may seem all too familiar to connoisseurs of the genre. However, through some cleverly used twists and turns, he manages very well to keep the audience interested in the story and its characters, even away from the well-orchestrated zombie attacks.

This is also how the ending works so brilliantly. In hindsight, it may not really be surprising - but still, you just don't see it coming. Thus, the film also leaves a lasting impression and is not quickly forgotten in the jumble of countless zombie movies of recent years. If you expect non-stop horror, you might be disappointed. But if you want to see enigmatic zombie fare with good actors and a surprising ending, you shouldn't miss this little genre gem! Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp