Maggie (2015)

 **This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Infected with an incurable zombie virus, Maggie Vogel (Abigail Breslin) runs away from home. Maggie’s father, Wade (Arnold Schwarzenegger), eventually brings Maggie back to the family’s ranch, determined to protect his oldest child from a legally mandated quarantine.

Maggie is supported by Wade, and her stepmother, Caroline (Joely Richardson), but the clock is ticking, as Maggie’s condition deteriorates…

My Thoughts- Maggie turning into a zombie is a slow process from start to finish. You won’t see any bloody and violent zombie attacks, or the survivors running for their lives, while being chased by hordes of the undead here. Instead, Maggie chooses to put the focus on the emotional toll the outbreak takes on everyone involved. Wade loves and deeply cares about his daughter. Wade’s options are limited, and he doesn’t want to make the difficult decision to send his daughter off to quarantine, an inhumane death sentence for infected humans.

Maggie? She knows there’s no way out. She doesn’t want to be a burden to her friends and her family, so she isolates herself. Maggie drifts in and out of trying to live a normal life. The waiting room scene at the doctor’s office does a good job of shining some light on Maggie’s problems. A mother notices Maggie’s bite wound, and she quickly urges her children to stay away from her. Another example of Maggie trying to be a normal teenage girl, but it’s just not possible without a cure or a vaccine. 

Abigail Breslin nails Maggie. The fear for what’s about to happen to her, the conflict for Maggie wanting to give up on herself, but she doesn’t want to disappoint her father, so she tries to live a normal life, and she knows time is running out, fast. You can see and feel everything Maggie is going through, and Breslin’s sympathetic performance is one of the true highlights here. You’ll see every agonizing stage of Maggie’s transformation, whether it’s the decaying skin, Maggie’s cravings for flesh, or Maggie’s gory solution for dealing with a broken finger.

So what’s the solution? Does Maggie FINALLY go to quarantine? Does Wade give in to Maggie’s heart-wrenching request for a mercy killing? Well, Maggie chooses death in the form of suicide by jumping off of the roof.  

I had my fingers crossed for a cure, or at least the realistic possibility for introducing a cure to add more suspense to the story, but it’s still a good and poignant finale. Towards the end, Maggie is just too far gone. She’s ninety-five percent zombie, but she still had enough clarity to choose death without attacking Wade. And Maggie knew Wade having to be the one to pull the trigger would’ve destroyed him, so she decided to take herself out of the picture. 

Also, Maggie using memories of spending time with her deceased mother, Sarah, was a nice touch. Maggie remembers Sarah, as she’s falling to the ground, and you could say it was Maggie’s way of easing herself into the afterlife, with comforting memories of a cherished relationship with her mother. Good stuff.

I’m of two minds about Maggie. On one hand, if you’ve seen enough zombie movies, you already know what’s going to happen after the infection. But Maggie takes a slow burn approach to the full turn. Is she going to turn into a zombie or not? It’s a question I asked myself more than once throughout the movie. I KNOW where this whole thing is going, so can we just get there already? But Maggie does make an earnest attempt at trying to be a different zombie film. It’s a dreary and somber horror drama about a viral outbreak that completely tears families and friends apart. 

Maggie does a really job of showing everyone’s perspectives for what’s going on. Sheriff Ray Pierce (Douglas M. Griffin) is Wade’s friend, and he respects him, but he has a job to do. Deputy Holt (J.D. Evermore) comes off as an asshole. He’s more strict, serious, and you can tell he’s annoyed at the fact that Wade is getting preferential treatment for keeping Maggie away from quarantine. But Holt makes a good point: Maggie is infected. It’s far too dangerous to keep her around healthy people, and it’s the police force’s job to protect the community at all costs. 

Maggie’s ex-boyfriend, Trent (Bryce Romero) is infected. Trent is scared. Similar to Maggie, he’s beyond the point of no return. He doesn’t want to go to quarantine, but his options are severely limited. Maggie’s friend, Allie (Raeden Greer) tries to hold it together during a friendly reunion. But Allie can’t hide an emotional reaction, because she knows she’s going to lose her best friend.

Maggie feels a bit dull at times, because without the possibility of a cure, or a cure that’s available, there’s only one solution to Maggie’s problem. Still, I have to give a thumbs up for Maggie taking an unconventional and mostly successful approach to a zombie horror film. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers a dedicated performance, as a father, who’s carrying around a heavy heart. Wade is a simple man, who lives a quiet life, and he loves his old rusty pickup truck. A solid all around cast, a fantastic ending, and Schwarzenegger and Breslin share believable father/daughter chemistry together. 

I’m also glad the vast majority of Maggie takes place in the countryside, and the more rural parts of America. Maggie’s set pieces are a perfect fit for the story. It’s eerily quiet, and you can see the devastation from the outbreak. Old homes, fields of burning crops, and a seemingly abandoned gas station. A clear visual representation that Wade, Maggie, and the rest of the cast are currently living in a hopeless world. No one is coming to save them, everyone is scared, and you have to worry about the possibility of your neighbors turning into zombies. 

Rating- 8/10