Maggie, Review: My daughter, the zombie!

First-time writer John Scott 3 and first-time director Henry Hobson’s humane zombie tale Maggie treats the genre differently and has many poignant moments. It is slow, hazy and morbid, though there are several interesting twists to this pandemic tale.

Most of the world has been plagued by the Necroambulist virus that turns people into zombies/cannibals. Farmers have burnt down their fields and crops to prevent further contamination. Wade Vogel (Arnold Schwarzenegger) goes out searching of his daughter. Maggie (Abigail Breslin), who is infected. He finds her in a hospital, with other infected people. Wade is allowed to take Maggie home until the virus progresses to the point where she must be quarantined. Wade brings Maggie home to his wife/Maggie's stepmother, Caroline (Joely Richardson) and Caroline’s children from a previous marriage, Bobby and Molly. Wade burns his field down. One afternoon, Maggie cuts her finger and starts oozing black fluid. Fearing the worst, she cuts off the finger. She and Wade find a man named Nathan and his daughter Julia on the farm, both completely transformed from the infection. Wade kills Nathan and Julia, and Nathan’s wife Bonnie (Rachel Whitman) regrets having brought her husband and daughter home from quarantine.

Wade sees Dr. Vern Kaplan (Jodie Moore) who gives him three options on what to do with Maggie. One, he can take her to quarantine immediately, which he refuses to do. Two, he can give her a "cocktail" injection that they would give her in quarantine, so that at least she would die, though in great pain,  with her father by her side and not with a bunch of strangers. The third option is the one he recommends: to "make it quick". Maggie's friend Allie (Raeden Greer) visits her and invites her to hang out with friends. They gather around a bonfire, along with a boy named Trent (Bryce Romero), who is also infected. He says he would blow his brains out, if he reached the last stage, when the victims begin to smell non-existent food and attack and eat humans and animals. Maggie's eyes begin to lose their color, and she starts to claim that she smells food when there is none. She then goes to Trent's home, to find his father holding a gun at Trent's bedroom door. The boy knows it's time for him to get quarantined, but he refuses to come out. Maggie tries talking him down as the authorities enter the house and forcibly take Trent away from his father. Maggie could suffer the same fate.

Maggie is the result of a five-year effort and was shot over just five weeks. It was made at a budget of $8m, of which only $8,000 went to the art department. At one point, the production equipment was almost seized, as they had defaulted on payment. Also, the DP had an injury, and they had to replace him, twice. The film is largely the result of the friendship between two college students from Illinois, who had gone to SIU-Carbondale. After graduation, one became a NASA worker, the other headed to Hollywood. John Scott 3(who has written Maggie) commands the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, a satellite that orbits Earth and collects information about black holes. Trevor Kaufman, the other friend, went to Hollywood. When Scott wrote the script, he got in touch with Kaufman. And that was the beginning. The film could have been made four years ago, if one of the potential investors had his way, and Hobson had been removed as director. The team, however, insisted on standing by Hobson. Chloe Moretz was to play Maggie, but it finally went to Breslin.

Difficult viewing in the first 20 minutes or so, the narrative later gets punctuated with some appealing cuts and landscapes. There is an ominous brooding most of the time. Scott and Hobson paint a very sad picture of humanity, and offer no hope. It’s a muted cry to God for mercy. When you are confronted with three alternatives, each more terrible than the other two, which one will you choose? Or, will you think of something completely unpredictable?

In the most unpredictable piece of casting, Arnold Schwarzenegger has minimal action and lots of emoting to do. Hobson makes it easy for him, by giving him very little dialogue. Nevertheless, he does well. Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Zombieland, August: Osage County and Ender's Game) is the beautiful girl rendered ugly and hideous, with a gash on her arm, a chopped finger and discloured eyes. Naturally, you sympathise with her and empathise with her father. Joely Richarsdon makes an understanding yet practical wife. Rachel Whitman’s sentimental character has a very logical graph, though her role is small. She’s impressive. Bryce Romero tugs at your heart and Raeden Greer is a sweet friend. Jodie Moore is billed as Dr. Kaplan (and I thought Jodie was a female name!) and here’s a fine performance.

‘Parents facing the situation of having to kill their own child/children’ is not a new premise. It is as old as, if not older than, Mother India (India, 1957). The premise gets a makeover here, but the substance is far short of the stuff classics are made of. Euthanasia is one side of the coin, killing the sick who pose a threat to society is another. Pre-emptive murder?

In Maggie, visuals are often blurred and dimly-lit, though it is not clear whether they were shot like that or there is some problem in the processing/projection. There is, however, a twist in the tale, almost like a suspense thriller, and the film has a cinematically effective ending.

If you are a happy person and can take morose cinema in your stride, you might enjoy the film more than those you want to have a good time at the movies.

Rating: **1/2

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ5Vz8qE8R8