While Hollywoodâs zombie obsession has tapered off a bit, itâs far from dead. Though some of the recent zombie output suggests profit rather than creative fascination is the motivating factor, director Jonathan Levineâs (50/50) adaptation of Isaac Marion's novel Warm Bodies sounds like a wholly intriguing and incredibly fun zombie pic. The âzombie love storyâ stars Nicholas Hoult as âRâ, a zombie who falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer) after he eats her boyfriendâs brains and absorbs his memories. Itâs a really cool premise anchored by a stellar supporting cast (Rob Corddry, John Malkovich) and an exciting young filmmaker.The first official image of Hoult as the zombified âRâ has been released, and it's pretty great. The look is different enough from the gruesome zombies of The Walking Dead to appear fresh, yet still maintains the vacant stare and pale skin that says "I hunger for brains." The stain is a nice touch as well. Hit the jump to check out the image. Warm Bodies opens August 10th.[Update: Summit has released three more images, now included after the jump.]Click here to see more images from Warm Bodies. Hereâs the full synopsis for Warm Bodies:
Zombies love people, especially their brains. But R (Nicholas Hoult) is different. Heâs alive inside, unlike the hundreds of other grunting, drooling undeadâall victims of a recent plague that drove the remaining survivors into a heavily guarded city. Now the Zombies roam about an airport terminal, searching for human prey and living in fear of the vicious Boneys, the next undead incarnation.
One day, R and his best friend M lumber toward the city in search of food. There, R first sets his eyes on JULIE (Teresa Palmer), a beautiful human. Determined to save herâfirst from the other Zombies and then from the BoneysâR hides her in his home, a cluttered 747 aircraft. Julie is terrified, and Râs grunted assurances of âNotâ¦eatâ do little to calm her. But when R begins to act more human than Zombie, coming to her defense, refusing to eat human flesh, and even speaking in full sentences, Julie realizes that R is special.
After a few close calls with the Boneys, and with her father mounting an armed search for her, Julie realizes she canât hide forever. So she sneaks back home, leaving R broken-hearted. Desperate to see her, R decides to comb his hair, stand a little straighter, and impersonate a human long enough to get past the city guards. If only he can prove to the humans that Zombies can change, maybe R and Julieâs love might stand a chance. But with the rampaging Boneys heading toward the city and Julieâs father intent on killing R and his Zombie friends, the stage is set for an all-out battle between the living and the undead.
A genre-bending tale of love and transformation, WARM BODIES is a story about a boy who loves a girlâ¦for more than just her body.