Monday, May 18, 2015

Cine Beaverhausen: Arnold Walks with a Zombie in Maggie

The Terminator films are sci-fi, but Maggie may be Arnold Schwarzenegger's first foray into the horror-film genre. Arnie is the father of a young woman turning into a zombie. Such is the trend today.

This movie, released May 8, is a box-office flop! Maggie (the zombie) is played by Abigail Breslin, who was in August: Osage County. Her acting is stellar. And the quite comely Joely Richardson is in this. All around, convincing performances that well serve a far-fetched premise.

So, put this on my Guilty Pleasures list because I largely enjoyed it. It's actually a sensitive, low-key parable about family and the terminally sick and dying.

The cinematography has the typical dark palette of modern horror flicks. However, the ex-Guvnor gives a restrained performance (though he does walk tall with a big gun) that, perhaps, turned off his action-film fan base, along with the film's slow pacing. The film was released by an indy company; I'm sure no majors wanted to touch this despite the film's possible star power.

Breslin's Maggie never gets as ugly as the ads suggest. This drama has heart, soul and integrity from start to finish. But no flesh chomping. Geared more toward sensitive Goth girls than the boy action-film market.

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