Put aside your thoughts of Arnie mowing down fleets of the undead with a chain gun while spouting one liners (I like, “You’re all in grave danger”). Maggie is not that kind of movie, not one bit. This is a movie about a simple mid-western farmer spending the last remaining days of his daughter’s life with her before she succumbs to a lethal disease. This is a movie about fatherhood, discovering who your parents are as people, the acceptance of death, and, most of all, love.
Wade Vogel, our mid-west farmer with an Austrian accent, received a voice message from his daughter, the titular Maggie, saying she’s gone into the city and to not look for her. But this is the post-zombie apocalypse, and while most infected have been destroyed and precautions are in place, the city is still dangerous. After two weeks of searching, he finds her at a hospital. She’s been attacked. Bitten. Infected. She has day’s, weeks at best before she is taken by the virus.
Wade is warned of the symptoms and is allowed to take her home but is recommended to bring her into quarantine when the first signs show. Wade takes Maggie home to her stepmother and half-siblings. We are shown that even in the country, risk of attack from roaming undead is still a possibility. After her first signs, Wade’s wife opts to leave for her sister’s, taking her children with her.
The rest of the movie plays out the way you might expect. Wade cares for Maggie but struggles. A trip to the family doctor reveals quarantine is a terrible place for one’s last days. Wade take the doctor’s advice to keep Maggie till the end when he will “make it quick”. The father and daughter just enjoying her last days…
And that’s where I’ll stop. There is much more to this movie, but it really is something to be seen. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives a very surprisingly deep, heartfelt performance. Abigail Breslin plays Maggie excellently as someone trying to stay strong and not be a burden on her family in the face of terminal illness. This is not just a new take on the zombie-film, this is art (and that is something I rarely say, if ever). I implore everyone, please, see this movie.
Texan, y’all! Cinema glutton, horror enthusiast, sci-fi nerd, comic lover, and I like Japanese stuff too (the culture, kaiju, martial arts, samurai, some anime). Love me some Mario, Sonic, and Pokemon.
