By Lisa Johnson Mandell

From international body building champ to cyborg to Governor of California to zombie slayer, I challenge you to find anyone who has had a weirder career trajectory than Arnold Schwarzenegger. In light of that, it would appear that putting him in the indie zombie pic Maggie would be gratuitous stunt casting, meant to bring a little glamor and attention to a film that might be just one more march of the walking dead. To my ultimate amazement, however, the former Governor holds his own. He actually loses himself in a terse performance as the father of a teenage girl who has been afflicted with the fatal zombie virus in post apocalyptical middle America, and the film turns into a lyric twist on a genre that’s all but undead.

Of course, to give more credit where credit is due, the teenage Abigail Breslin is spellbinding. You may remember her best as the intrepid Little Miss Sunshine, and while she’s not quite all grown up yet, she’s riveting as Maggie, a teenager whose dire fate is inevitable, but who valiantly attempts to fight the good fight anyway. Schwarzenegger’s Wade dedicates himself to helping her as best he can, and while they don’t have lengthy conversations, their commitment and love is undeniable.

One chilling scene stands out in particular: an almost gone Maggie draws near, just a breath away from her father’s cheek, as he sleeps with a gun in his lap. She finds the tasty smell of his flesh almost irresistible. Will she sink her teeth into his cheek and take him down with her? Will he wake up in time to thwart her, and if so, will he have the power to shoot her? The outcome is not at all what I expected, and actually brought tears to my eyes.

This is just one scene, however, in what feels like a very long film. It drags and lapses into tedium, but at least it doesn’t attempt to liven things ups with snarling zombie blood baths. First time director Henry Hobson, who has worked on title, end and credit sequences for films like Snow White & the Huntsman, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes and The Help, seems to be attempting to make a kinder, gentler, more artistic zombie film. At times he succeeds, and at others he doesn’t. Wisely keeping the stogies and quips out of it, I’d say Hobson was close, but no cigar.

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 35 Minutes

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MAGGIE Review