The Girl with All the Gifts
Short description
In a near-future Britain, a fungal infection has turned most of the population into flesh-eating creatures known as hungries. A small group of children born to infected mothers are different: they carry the infection but keep their intelligence and emotions, which makes them the focus of research at a military base. Among them is Melanie, a remarkably bright girl who is close to her teacher, Helen Justineau, and is studied by the scientist Caroline Caldwell. When the base is overrun, Melanie escapes with Justineau, Caldwell and Sergeant Parks, and the group travels through a ruined country.
The film is a British production directed by Colm McCarthy, his second feature after Outcast and his first since 2010. Mike Carey wrote the screenplay, adapting his own novel. Sennia Nanua plays Melanie, with Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine and Glenn Close in the main adult roles. It was made for about 5 million dollars and took roughly 4 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from around 69,000 votes, and on TMDB it has 6.6 out of 10 from more than 2,200 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 130 reviews places it somewhat above those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- When Glenn Close was cast in the film, she told her sister Deb. Deb is a big fan of zombie movies and always dreamed of appearing in one. Deb played one of the zombies in the scene where the survivors make their way through the crowd – she is wearing a blue knitted sweater, with blood on her lips and neck, and green marks of viral infection on her face. Glenn Close’s character looks after her.
- Director Colm McCarthy admitted that Gareth Edwards’ “Monsters” (2010) had a strong influence on him and served as a guideline during filming.
- Director Colm McCarthy decided that simple zombies were already tiresome, so he chose to follow the example of “28 Days Later” (2002) and make the virus constantly maintain rage in its victims.
- Filming took place in Shirley (a suburb of Solihull in West Midlands county) near the abandoned Powergen energy company building, in Birmingham, and in West Midlands county, at an abandoned bus station and in a derelict shopping area in Hanley, Staffordshire.
- The film is based on Mike Carey’s novel “The Girl With All The Gifts” (2014). Mike Carey also wrote the screenplay.
- Aerial footage was shot in Pripyat.
- The novel’s author, Mike Carey, played one of the zombies (in a blue shirt) who tried to break through to the military base.
- In the book, Melanie (Sennia Nanua) has blonde hair and blue eyes.
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