The Girl With All the Gifts is a zombie movie that is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and it is an unsung gem that deserves attention.
In a bunker under a British Army base, a group of children are held captive and go through an unorthodox educational process. Whenever they leave their cells, they are strapped into chairs, and they react violently if they smell human flesh. One of these children is Melanie (Sennia Nanua), an intelligent girl who was close to her teacher, Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton). Melanie and Helen end up joining a small group of survivors after the base gets overrun by “Hungries.” The group travels to London in the hope of finding more survivors, with Helen protecting Melanie from Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close), who believes the girl could be the key to a cure.
When it comes to British zombie films, 28 Days Later is the standard bearer. It was the film considered by many responsible for revitalising the zombie subgenre and responsible for starting the deluge of zombie media we have seen since 2002. The Girl With All the Gifts got close to the standards set by Danny Boyle’s movie and did its own thing with the ravenous, mindless beings.
The Girl With All the Gifts was based on a novel by Mike Carey, and he wrote the screenplay. He ensured the film version stuck closely to the source material with core story and tone. The biggest omission was the Junkers, humans who survive by travelling across the island. The film focused on a small group needing to avoid the Hungries as they travelled. The other major change was Helen and Melanie’s appearances because in the novel, Helen was a middle-aged black woman and Melanie was blond with blue eyes. My theory is the production secured funding if they cast Gemma Arterton, so they race-swapped Melanie to compensate.
The Girl With All the Gifts has been compared to The Last of Us. The main reason why is that the infection that turned people into ravenous monsters is fungal. Digging deeper, there were more similarities. If there was no food around, the Hungries went dormant and entered the next stage in their life cycle. In The Girl With All the Gifts, the Hungries would amass, grow into a tower with spore pods that could spread the fungus globally. There was also the road narrative where a small group of characters travelled to find safety, and a young girl could be the key to a cure. Helen was like Joel, someone who was protective of their ward and outraged that the child could be euthanised. The difference was that The Girl With All the Gifts showed this development in its story.
The Girl With All the Gifts was a dark film. It starts with children being locked in cells, strapped to chairs, and having no experience of the outside world. One of the children was taken to be experimented on, and Melanie saw the aftermath because she saw their brain in a jar. The scene when Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine) demonstrated the children’s hunger was effective as they gave in to their base instincts. The origins of the children were bleak, and that was just from the description. It was understandable why many people were afraid of them. When the group arrived in London, they encountered a group of feral children who were primitive, had little language or communication ability and dressed like The Feral Kid in Mad Max 2. I am currently reading World War Z, and this plot development reminded me of Sharon’s interview.
The Girl With All the Gifts produced some really strong horror sequences. The first act was really strong as it showed what happened when the children lost control, even around people they love, with the base being surrounded by the Hungries and when the base’s defences were breached. It was a great sequence when Helen tries to save Melanie when all the Hungries ran amok before Melanie ends up unleashing her zombie abilities. Even after this intense first act, The Girl With All the Gifts had a sense of dread as this small group travelled through post-apocalyptic England, very much like the 28 Days Later series.
The film did manage to have a strong cast. Sennia Nanua was great as Melanie, a girl who was polite and formal even when she was handcuffed and muzzled, but also had to resist her bloodlust and be savage if she lost control. Nanua did earn some big award nominations for best newcomer back in 2016 and 2017. Arterton and Close were strong performers, with Arterton acting as a protective motherly figure whilst Close was an ends-justify-the-means character. Considine was the stand-out because his character experienced the most growth. Sgt. Parks was a gruff and aggressive military type who dehumanised the children, and his communication method towards Melanie was shouting. As the film progressed, Parks softened; he revealed what his life was like before the apocalypse, and he developed a grudging respect for the girl. One of the story throughlines was that people thought Melanie was a monster and realised she was intelligent and empathic.
The Girl With All the Gifts was a worthy part of the tapestry of post-apocalyptic British films, as it put its own spin on the zombie subgenre. It was a film that was thrilling, tender, and dark.
