The Girl with All the Gifts (film)
| The Girl with All the Gifts | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Colm McCarthy |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | M.R. Carey |
| Based on |
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Cristobal Tapia de Veer |
| Cinematography | Simon Dennis |
| Edited by | Matthew Cannings |
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Production
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| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures (UK) Saban Films (United States) |
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Release date
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Running time
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111 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | |
| Box office | $2.1 million |
The Girl with All the Gifts is a 2016 British post-apocalyptic zombie horror drama film directed by Colm McCarthy and written by M.R. Carey adapted from his novel of the same name. Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua, the plot depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection and focuses upon the struggle of a scientist, a teacher and two soldiers who embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
In the near future, humanity has been ravaged by a mysterious fungal disease. The afflicted are robbed of all free will and turned into flesh-eating zombies referred to as 'hungries'. Humankind's only hope is a small group of hybrid children who crave living flesh but retain the ability to think and feel. The children go to school at an army base in the Home Counties, where they are subjected to experiments by Dr. Caroline Caldwell. The children are treated like people, to the dismay of Sgt. Eddie Parks, although they are all restrained firmly in wheelchairs. Helen Justineau is responsible for educating and studying the children. Helen treats the children fairly and grows particularly close to an exceptional girl named Melanie, who is shown to have a genius level IQ and the two form a special bond. After Melanie reads a story she has written about a young girl saving a woman from a monster and the pair staying together forever (clearly drawing a parallel from her own feelings for Miss Justineau), Helen is overcome with emotion and strokes the girl's head. Sgt. Parks bursts in and severely rebukes Helen; he spits on his arm and holds it under the nose of one of the children, evoking a violent, animalistic response from the child that spreads to the others, apart from Melanie who alone struggles to restrain herself due to Helen's affection for her.
Dr Caldwell is revealed to be researching a cure by experimenting on the children. Caldwell gives Melanie riddles, which her high IQ allows her to solve easily. One day Caldwell asks Melanie for a number between one and twenty - Melanie chooses thirteen, and the child in cell thirteen is absent the following day. The next time Caldwell asks Melanie for a number, she is surprised when Melanie chooses her own cell number (four). Caldwell reluctantly takes her to her lab, whereupon Melanie sees preserved body parts belonging to child thirteen. As she is strapped to a table, Helen rushes into the lab and tries to intervene to save her as it is revealed that Dr Caldwell intends to autopsy the body and remove Melanie's brain. Helen is easily disarmed but the base is invaded and the lab breached before Caldwell can proceed. Melanie escapes but outside the hungries are everywhere.
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