The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

A scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.

Director:

Colm McCarthy

Writers:

Mike Carey (novel), Mike Carey (screenplay)

Stars:

Sennia Nanua, Fisayo Akinade, Dominique Tipper

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sennia Nanua	...	Melanie
Fisayo Akinade	...	Kieran Gallagher
Dominique Tipper	...	Devani
Paddy Considine	...	Sgt Eddie Parks
Anamaria Marinca	...	Dr. Jean Selkirk
Gemma Arterton	...	Helen Justineau
Anthony Welsh	...	Dillon
Glenn Close	...	Dr. Caroline Caldwell
Mia Garcha	...	Melanie Double
Grace McGee	...	Anne
Eli Lane	...	Kenny
Connor Pratt	...	Peter
Joe Lomas	...	Joe
Will Brooks	...	Painted Boy
Joel Sheldon	...	T-Shirt Boy

Storyline

In a dystopian near future, humanity has been ravaged by a mysterious fungal disease. The afflicted are robbed of all free will and turned into flesh-eating 'hungries'. Humankind's only hope is a small group of hybrid children who crave human flesh but retain the ability to think and feel. The children go to school at an army base in rural Britain, where they're subjected to cruel experiments by Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close). School teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) grows particularly close to an exceptional girl named Melanie (Sennia Nanua), thus forming a special bond. But when the base is invaded, the trio escape with the assistance of Sgt. Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine) and embark on a perilous journey of survival, during which Melanie must come to terms with who she is.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | scientist | bitten by a zombie | zombie | social commentary | 

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Taglines:

Our greatest threat is our only hope

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violence/bloody images, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Page Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

She Who Brings Gifts

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Poison Chef,BFI Film Fund,Altitude Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the aerial footage was shot by a second unit in the ghost town of Prypjat, near Chernobyl, in Ukraine. Director Colm McCarthy: "I was very interested in post-apocalyptic imagery and urban exploration. We wanted to surprise people rather than have people coming in expecting a studio level film. We sent a micro drone unit to Pripyat, Chernobyl to shoot helicopter footage with Pripyat doubling for urban London." [2016]

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Goofs

Whilst the movie was filmed in 2015 the panoramic shot of central London containing the 'Gherkin' also shows the old building at 20 Fenchurch Street, which was demolished in 2008, its replacement, the 'Walkie Talkie' was completed in 2014.

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Quotes

Kieran Gallagher: [Finding a feral Hungry kid offering a rat to him] I've already eaten, thanks.

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Connections

References Cujo (1983)

User Reviews

It's OK, I guess.

I don't really know what to write other than this is another zombie flesh eaters flick that's only mediocre. I don't get the other reviews that say it's so "brilliant".

I, myself, think it's slow moving and boring. There are no good special effects and it just seems low budget. It's not a bad movie, just not a very good one IMO. We have our own tastes so YMMV.

Also, the person who said this is the best movie since 28 days later... Makes me wonder what movie they were watching. This has nothing on that movie.

I gave this a 5/10. If you're bored and want to kill some time watching a movie of this genera, then by all means go for it. It's worth a watch, but IMO it's nothing special at all.