Warm Bodies 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Brad Sturdivant
October 8th, 2017
If we take a second to flashback to 2013, ‘The Walking Dead’ was probably at its peak and it had already inspired a handful of zombie-themed copycats. Some worked better than others, but if you were burnt out on the genre by the time WARM BODIES rolled around, no one can blame you. Hollywood loves to copy other people’s success and completely milk the life out of any genre that proves to be popular. But WARM BODIES took a unique approach to the genre and instead of trying to mimic other films of the genre, it decided to poke fun at the genre and tell a sweet story at the same time.
Although unique in the way it tells the story, the story itself is something we’ve seen before. The hero of the film is simply known as R (Hoult), a very self aware zombie that makes his home at the airport, contemplating his existence and hanging with his friend M (Rob Cordrry). The heroine of the film is Julie (Palmer), part of the few human survivors and the daughter of the human leader Grigio (Malkovich). R meets Julie when Julie and her boyfriend are out scavenging for supplies and during this encounter, R eats her boyfriend’s brains, sparking a deeper connection between R and Julie. This prompts R to kidnap Julie and as they escape the Boneys (more deteriorated zombies) and their respective groups that obviously don’t approve of their union.
It’s hard to put a label on WARM BODIES since it’s part comedy, part horror and part romance, but I think it clings to comedy more than any other genre. It’s not slapstick comedy, but it pokes fun at itself on several occasions and it gave its cast the freedom to have fun with it. Rob Cordrry makes me laugh in everything he’s in and adds plenty of laughs here. John Malkovich is obviously a great actor, but he’s at his best when he gets to play up an otherwise cheesy character. Aside from the great supporting cast, Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer do a great job as the leads. Their chemistry helps sell the film in some of the more problematic or inconsistent scenes.
Aside from the dreadful SNATCHED, Jonathan Levine has a very nice directing resume, with WARM BODIES being his followup to the equally sweet 50/50. His nuanced comedy and ability to create touching moments in otherwise bad situations is one of the things that elevates WARM BODIES to a surprisingly charming film about zombies. This film could have easily gone too scary or too cheesy, but Levine walked the line very well. WARM BODIES was a nice surprise when it came out four years ago and it still holds up as a flash of creativity in an otherwise played out genre.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: WARM BODIES had a decent Blu-ray release, but the film style and the naturally dark settings lent itself to a sometimes saturated transfer. I was expecting only slight improvements, but I was surprised the 4K release improved on so many of the Blu-ray limitations. Close-ups and settings get their standard improvements, but it made more of an impact in WARM BODIES, adding new life (no pun intended) to the film and giving more detail to the film. WARM BODIES isn’t necessarily a film that will blow you away with flashy visuals, but fans of the film will be more than pleased with the nice upgrade.
WARM BODIES is another Lionsgate catalog title that does feature Dolby Vision
Audio: The film is also treated to a nice Dolby Atmos track that, much like the video, is a nice upgrade.
This title was reviewed using a Samsung UBD-K8500 with a Sony XBR75X850C TV.
The 4K UHD does not contain any exclusive features, but it does include a Blu-ray of the film.
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