For being a zombie that can only grunt, moan and shuffle, Nicholas Hoult has the brooding, romantic undead thing down in Warm Bodies, based on the novel by Isaac Marion.
Must be the blue eyes.
In the first four minutes of the darkly funny romance, we are introduced to Hoult's R, a young man struck down in his prime by an apocalyptic event he can't quite remember and left to stalk blankly around a desolate airport with his fellow zombies, including what passes for a best friend in such circumstances, Rob Corddry's M.
As R plods through the terminal, lights flickering above, he points out the Bonies—"They'll eat anything with a heartbeat. I mean, I will, too, but at least I'm conflicted about it," he admits.
And therein lies the rub.
While the sneak peek intro, exclusively obtained jointly by E! News, Fandango, Daily Candy and iVillage, is classic introspective-teen irony and longing, this is also a romance from the makers of Twilight Summit Entertainment—and since none of R's fellow zombies are quite as cute as he is, it's human survivor Julie, played by Teresa Palmer, who ultimately catches his rheumy eyes and the rotting remnants of his heart.
His inner monologue sounds quite human—but how will they make it work?! Warm Bodies is in theaters Feb. 1.
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