Ah, how the zombie machine continues to chug along, and how I’m enjoying it. I’m a huge fan of the zombie genre; the movies, games, books, etc.

But when I first saw the trailer of Warm Bodies, I was a little skeptical. At first glance, Warm Bodies seemed like a cheesy concept: a zombie falls in love and slowly starts changing back to human. But it is surprisingly clever and hilarious, while also sweet.

The protagonist is R, played brilliantly by Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, Jack the Giant Slayer). Yes, it is simply R. He doesn’t remember his name, or how he died.

Usually his days consist of lumbering around an infested airport, and occasionally “having a conversation” with his friend, M, played by Rob Corddry (Escape from Planet Earth, Hot Tub Time Machine).

One day, R and M decide to go hunting for brains. Along with other fellow zombies, they head out to the city. On the way there, they spot a “bonie”. These are bad. They are the main antagonists of the film.

They come in contact with a group of humans that includes Julie, played by Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), her boyfriend Perry, played by James Franco’s little brother Dave Franco (21 Jump Street, The Shortcut,), and her best friend, Nora, played by Analeigh Tipton (Damsels in Distress, Crazy, Stupid, Love.).

During the scuffle, which leaves most of the group of humans dead, R, in love, decides to save Julie by covering her scent and taking her back to his home inside a commercial plane in the runway of the airport.

Julie slowly falls for R and notices his humanity coming back to him. Julie hopes to use R’s transformation to show that the zombie apocalypse can be reversed and everything can go back to normal.

The movie is thoroughly entertaining and sweet, evidenced by the two girls next to me who constantly went “awww”. It is also satirical of the genre. Think Zombieland.

R is self-deprecating; when the horde goes to the city, he remarks that they’re “slow”. It is funny as well; most of the movie plays out by being able to hear R’s thoughts.

Also funny is the body language of the actors, most notably Hoult and Corddry. The exchange between these two is hilarious; they have such a chemistry.

Granted, if you’re a huge zombie fan, like me, you kind of have to suspend the general zombie rules. In the movie, they have a sense of awareness, they can open doors and R can even operate a vinyl player.

But all in all, the movie is a winner and a kick to watch. I firmly suggest watching this movie. It is well worth the price of admission.