Warm Bodies

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, Warm Bodies is available in Australia on Netflix and Stan, and in the US on YouTube TV and MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it for Nicholas Hoult — stay for everyone else around them. Start it on Netflix whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Warm Bodies is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Warm Bodies gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world. The chemistry Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer bring to it does a lot of the heavy lifting. It hit screens in 2013. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and Warm Bodies holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in Warm Bodies. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Nicholas Hoult is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.