5/10

Director Henry Hobson and writer John Scott III present some original ideas during a time when zombie films are becoming an overabundance. In ‘Maggie’, a deadly zombie virus sweeps the nation, and a father (Arnold Schwarzenegger) will stop at nothing to save his infected daughter (Abigail Breslin) in this post-apocalyptic thriller with a heartbreaking set up. Hobson’s film involves some very groundbreaking ideas to keep the genre fresh for many years to come. Most of all comes in the storytelling of characters backgrounds. For a film that is predictable in terms of where it will end, the movie keeps it’s audience on the edge of their seats pitting family characters against each other in a world where zombies are commonplace. Where the film struggles is in the amateur frame work involving many key shots being cut out, or opposite of the center of each scene where an important event needs to be. Speaking of important events, there are very little in the film. Scott knows how to tell a story, but he leaves a lot of intrigue on the cutting room floor, instead opting out for long continuous shots of character reactions. There are very few scares about the film, and about as much gore on top of it. I understand why this film is classified as a horror movie, but it never gives the audience that chilling moment to honor such a genre. I did enjoy the gnarly makeup work by Melanie Deforrest, a longtime Hollywood props artist most notably for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, and the upcoming ‘Jurassic World’. The slow-decaying design of Breslin’s on -screen appearance takes it’s time when most zombie films are known to push the turn button as fast as they can. With each passing day, we see piece by piece of her facial features rotting away, with just a hint of bone collapse just below the surface. The performances are decent enough, but i think the reviews for Arnold’s performance were a little over the top. He does a solid job as a father who is losing the most important people in his life piece by piece, but we never experience that gritty scene of him breaking down as a result of him knowing that he will eventually be forced with ending his daughter’s life. The film could’ve played a lot more for these dramatic moments, and as a result, the film struggles to find any true identity with a lack of gore/violence or long winded dramatic dialogue. A film with this idea works for a nice independent short film, but struggles to fill it’s 90 minute run time with anything other than slowburn emotionless filler. The ending left me still searching a definitive answer on the fates of our characters. If the movie doesn’t care, then why should we? ‘Maggie’ has some creativity spinning it’s wheels, but it takes more than just one great idea rise from a development graveyard. It’s lifeless like it’s main female protagonist.