One Of The Best Rom Coms Is Also A Zombie Movie (And You Should Give It a Chance)

When Warm Bodies first came out in 2013, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hyper-critical. As both a horror and romantic comedy fan, you’d think I’d love a movie where a girl falls in love with a zombie. Alas, I didn’t give the movie the chance it deserved.

If the basic plot point of human + zombie romance didn’t completely hurt the advertising campaign, then surely being based on a young adult novel put the final nail in the coffin. Very loosely based on a novel of the same name by author Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies follows a zombie (Nicholas Hoult) as he grows a crush for a woman (Teresa Palmer) he meets as she scavenges with a group of survivors.

I have to say this because it’s important: Don’t be like me. Don’t judge this movie harshly before even giving it a chance. Because when I finally watched Warm Bodies, I fell in love. And you might, too! Speaking of which, it’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Here’s why you should give it a chance:

Warm Bodies isn’t as gross as it sounds.

A human with a zombie. Sounds kind of gross, right? Don’t think about the logistics. If fact, you don’t need to. It doesn’t come up. The crush that the zombie, R, has on Julie is fairly chaste. And haven’t we all been through that? Watching someone from afar and thinking they’re super cool? It turns out we actually have something in common with zombies after all if the world of Warm Bodies is any indication. But I’ll leave you with this exceedingly mild spoiler just in case you’re still worried about it: Maybe the capacity for a zombie to love someone is all you need to change the world.

It was adapted from a famous play–but I don’t want to tell you which one.

While Warm Bodies was adapted–very loosely so as to be mostly unrecognizable–from a young adult novel, that’s not the only connection it has. It’s also adapting a famous centuries-old play by a certain famous British man. That’s as specific as I’m going to get. While you could just look up what I’m talking about, I think the first viewing of Warm Bodies is far superior when you have no idea about this literary connection.

When I finally watched Warm Bodies, I realized what a fool I’d been.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I was a major hater when Warm Bodies first came out. The premise sounded stupid to me so, like a pretentious idiot, I never gave it a chance. That was until a few years ago when I was planning a month-long horror movie marathon for October. I decided to throw Warm Bodies in there so I could have a break from all the intense thrills and chills. I’m so glad I did. It became an instant favorite. The sweet love story, the unique take on zombies and how they tick, the great acting by Nicholas Hoult. I was a big fan. Don’t be like me. Rather than rolling your eyes at this review, just give it a shot. And if you hate it, you know where to find me.

Watch Warm Bodies on Amazon Prime Video.