THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

(2016) A difficult film to review without revealing any spoilers, The Girl with All the Gifts - based on the bestselling novel by Mike Carey, who also wrote the film's screenplay - is set in the now all-too-familiar "dystopian future" where humanity has been pretty darn thinned out due to a fungal virus that turns people into sleepwalking, zombie-like "hungries".  A young girl named Melanie (newcomer Sennia Nanua) may hold the answer to a cure, but before Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) can act on it, the military installation they are holed up in is overrun by hungries and they are forced to flee along with Melanie's favorite teacher (Gemma Arterton) and a few remaining military personnel, including the cynical Sgt. Parks (Paddy Considine), who recognizes that Melanie poses just as much a potential threat as potential cure, and would just as soon do away with her.  The film actually takes what feels like a fairly fresh approach to the "zombie" film genre, but a bit more than halfway through it started committing one of the most heinous crimes any horror/suspense film can commit - characters suddenly doing dumb, stupid things in the movie that a real human being with a half-ounce of brains would never have done in real life - and as those kept coming and then the massive downer of an ending played out, I felt a bit played out as well.  More curious than ever to read the novel now, though, to see how it differs.  (rated R) 6/10 stars