If you're looking for a typical Schwarzenegger action flick, this one isn't for you. Arnold Schwarzenegger thankfully seems to recognize that he's gotten a bit old to do the kinds of films that built his brand, and this film is much more of a drama than anything else.

Most zombie movies rely on the premise that the infected turn almost immediately. In "Maggie", however, the film is built on the premise that the infection takes some time to happen -- that the infected can function normally at first, but then the signs progress that the change from human to zombie is imminent.

Schwarzenegger plays Maggie's (Abigail Breslin) father. Maggie has been bitten, but has not yet turned; her father is in a bit of denial about her eventually becoming a zombie, and wants to make life as normal as possible for them in his daughter's end days. Deep down, he knows that eventually there will come a time where the worst of decisions will have to be made -- turn her in for "quarantine", or commit the deed himself -- but in between, both Maggie and her family know the world has changed, and must come to grips with what will happen.

Although this movie is tagged for 'horror', I don't feel like there was ever much "horror", aside from a flashback or two. This film is much more strongly weighted as a drama, where the disease in question is zombie-dom versus say, cancer or other life-threatening condition where the victim's final days are too horrible to face.

It's nice to have Schwarzenegger be able to prove he has some acting ability besides chasing down the bad guys. Breslin is talented, and in contrast to her role in "Zombieland", where she's more hard-edged, here she plays the transition of a girl frightened of her own pending mortality and potential future as a monster to good effect.

The film is slow in some spots, but again, this is a drama, NOT action or dark comedy or horror. Surprisingly likable film; not what I expected it to be.

Everyone says this movie is boring, but I didn't think it was. I think most of the other peoples' problem with the film is that they were expecting some kind of "Walking Dead" and "Terminator" mashup. Instead in this movie, zombieism is treated like a disease that is like some kind of super leprosy so it played more like "Outbreak". It is a very realistic look at what happens when varying places are recovering from an outbreak of a bad disease. I invite all viewers to put themselves in the shoes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin. Once you do that, I think the movie will be a bit more palatable to some. As a parent I could not imagine having to send my child off to be exterminated in a quarantine unit or face jail time, as one teen boy's father had to do. (Another neighbor did lose her daughter and husband to this disease and did go to jail for not sending her loved ones to quarantine.) It would be absolutely nightmarish to have to face the same situation.

On a personal side note, my opinion is probably not worth a hill of beans, but I hope Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin win some awards for this movie. His acting as the torn father is superb and hers as the teen girl facing her own mortality is also stellar. I was actually very delighted to see Arnold Schwarzenegger return to movies after he was finished with his political career. He's made several films in the last few years (Including a long awaited return to the role that made him famous, "Terminator:Genisys" currently in theaters as of this writing.) and I think his acting has matured and come a long way (a career that spans nearly 50 years if you can believe it!) since his initial barely off the boat introduction to films as Arnold Strong (I think because nobody wanted to attempt to pronounce or write 'Schwarzenegger') in "Hercules in New York". And this film, has reallly shown how much his acting has proves he can really act because it breaks away from the action hero and bodybuilding stereotype niche. I hope to see more dramas out of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the future. I don't care what anyone else says. I really enjoyed this movie but I will admonish others to have tissues handy. You are going to need them.

A zombie love story? Check.
Arnold doing drama? Check.
The Governator's soft side? Check.

Okay, right off I can tell you this movie will NOT appeal to everyone. It certainly didn't for my wife and we usually have similar tastes in movies and both usually enjoy the more left of center films. I enjoyed this, she did not.

Arnold stars as Maggie's father, Wade. Maggie's mother had died earlier and he subsequently married Caroline (who has an odd coming and going accent), fathering two more children. Maggie and Caroline are often at odds in the way stepchildren can be. Maggie is bitten and will turn into a necroambulist (nice term) in the near future. The law allows that the infected be allowed to return to their family until a certain time at which point they must be turned over to "quarantine" for eventual extermination.

In all fairness, this movie is Schwarzenegger's best work ever. We all know he can do the action guy but this is much bigger. This is a movie that requires actual talent. Aw-node shows he has that in spades. Plot not withstanding, this is great work for the man. He knew it was good as well as he did the film for free. Kudo Mr. S. Fantastic job.

So why only the 3*s? I would have given it a strong 4 and my wife would have preferred a 2. So, it's a 3, but truly is worth more in my opinion.

With all of today's "in your face" zombie resurrections, where they run (or lumber) rampant, tearing and eating all living things in sight, "Maggie" is, decidedly NOT one of those resurrections. The movie shows the sad, albeit slow, transformation of a young girl (the titular character) and the effects it has on her simple farm-living family and friends: the concerned stepmother sends her other children away for their safety and is shaken when she realizes she's been sniffed out as zombie food; the father doesn't want to face the ultimate, horrifying truth; best friend can't bear to say goodbye; local long-term friend/enforcement struggles between the right thing to do by nature and by nurture; old boyfriend's advancing infection crushes Maggie's hope for any future.

Thunder rumbles every night in this movie, possibly a foreshadow that the darkness and scary times are always looming. It's sort of a peaceful, more tranquil zombie film: no jerky, erratic movements but more of a dark, midnight stroll into zombiehood.

"Maggie" is sad one moment, sweet the next; hopeful in one scene, raspy breathing the next. Not your typical walking dead feature but still one that stays with you long after the transformation ends.

Although set in the zombie universe, this is not a typical zombie film. It seems to be set after the initial epidemic of infection has been more or less contained. There are no attacking hordes, no sense of fear and terror among those going about their lives. There may be a few left here or there but for the most part society has picked itself up and is gradually putting things back together. Though power seems sporadic at times, there is fuel for cars, a working phone system and staffed hospitals. It's all a gradual clean up operation now.

But what do you do with those who were bitten and are infected with a virus with no known cure that will eventually (they give a six to eight week general timespan) turn them into zombies? In most cases they are sent to quarantine centers, alleged to be nightmarish to be put down. But humanitarian legislation allows some of the infected to return to their families for a few final weeks under the medical supervision of a local physician. This is the case with Maggie (Abigail Breslin), a young infected woman, who is allowed to return to her home, a farm in the country. There her father Wade (Arnold Schwarzenegger) lives with her stepmother Caroline and Caroline's two young children Aiden abd Carsen who are quickly sent away for the duration of her visit after a brief hello.

The film develops the plot from here in a very serious, matter of fact way. The object is to explore what things might actually be like if there was such an outbreak without resorting to action film sequences or a conflict with evil characters. It's just everyday people: family members, old friends and their families, the local doctor and police, trying to cope with the situation. Nothing is really quite right. There is tension and suspicion in the air. Their is a palpable feeling of all society having taken a big hit and trying to recover from it. There is Maggies own struggle and Wade's difficulty coping with the demise of his daughter. Like almost all people in these films, he gets into denial when a close relative is involved.

Look at the box cover. This is the color pallet of the film: not black and white, but so color bleached that everything seems muted grey and brown, like life itself for these people. The performances are realistic and reserved rather than flashy and dramatic. The film is very slow, much like the slog that most of these people's lives have become. It's slow enough to try your patience at times, but worth it if you make the effort. It has some intense moments, such as when Maggie visits her former boyfriend Trent, who is also infected. It didn't make it at the box office and it's unrelenting grimness is a major factor. This is not a multiplex crowd-pleasing film.

But if you've ever given any thought to what a situation like this might actually be like, it is a very compelling story well done.

I had not heard of this film until it was recommended by a YouTuber that I subscribe to. I'm glad that I gave it a watch, because I was rewarded with something that is actually special in the overloaded zombie apocalypse genre.

As much as I love the whole "survive any way you can" zombie jaunt, this film brought something that was lacking, and that was heart. Even when other films or TV shows attempt to do drama, it always boils down to either a pissing match, or more "survive any way you can" that is just driven by "the power of love" and is often so weakly propped up, that is just falls flat.

I will admit that I kept expecting a completely different direction, all the way to the end, and that's surprising, since most modern films are completely predictable. In the end, the movie succeeded in creating an atmosphere of introspection and "What would I ACTUALLY do in this situation?" that was refreshing to see.

Arnold turned in a very well done performance, and sold his role well. While most other cast members were quite minor compared to his, they all did decently well, and this made for a believable setting. Never was I sitting here thinking "Man, that's not even close to how people would actually react".

It's not perfect, but I would wager that is it probably one of, if not the best role that I've seen Schwarzenegger in. Definitely give it a watch, unless you're a "no shiny, flashing lights? No thank you" type of watcher.

Makes sense this screenplay was noted as one of the movie industry's best unproduced screenplays. The script is clearly the strongest part of this movie--a good case for slowing down the zombie phenomenon, as Maggie is a young girl who is infected and destined to go into quarantine while her family struggles to deal with her illness. If that intro sounds like classic family drama, you're not reading too much into the sentiment behind this movie. Kind of like In the Flesh, we watch a world that is trying to make sense of its zombie outbreak, summed up (rather simply) in the two cops that are trying to maintain peace in this farming town. One is focused on the family, one wants to put down every sign of infection.
But what brought attention (and evidently the funding) to this movie was of course Schwarzenegger, who is competent in this film though at the same time one of its detriments. Granted, Schwarzenegger has set the bar pretty low for expectations, but he is well above that, so for that I give him credit. But the telltale issue behind Schwarzenegger in the lead for this is that the first half hour or so depends on his character's pathos, but proves to be more broody than emotive. Once other characters get involved, the film picks up well, but I hate to look in the mouth of the proverbial steed--this script might have lingered in the unproduced pile had it not been for Schwarzenegger signing on. Rich in strong undertones of family disease, of course, but also what parents and a community can do about children going awry, this is probably a solid addition of zombie film, though it had the potential of being more of a game-changer.

To it's credit, Maggie takes the well worn zombie theme and manages to do something different with it. Set in a modern day Midwest rural farming community, Maggie explores what happens when an infected child is brought home by her father against the best judgment of everyone around them. This particular zombie scourge does not take minutes to set in. Instead, it is a grueling disease that slowly infects the person over the course of days. Because of this, families are confronted with what to do when a loved one becomes infected. They have difficult choices - Send the person to "quarantine", which is a nightmarish place where the infected are thrown together to die, or keep them at home until the disease has progressed to the point they must make an alternative decision. In addition to the disease effecting people, it also effects the land and crops. End times are around everyone, and people are forced to burn crops to attempt to prevent the scourge from spreading. The settings are glum, and the world seems on the brink of death. Against this, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Maggie's father. He is not an action hero. He is grey and weathered. Physically, he looks as ancient without even the hint of the glamorous Hollywood star he is or used to be. His eyes are haunted, his body sags. It is interesting to see him play a role completely against what he has done before. There is no typical zombie gore. People are not running from zombie hordes trying to eat them. Instead, this movie is a character study in how people react when confronted with impossible choices. It is a slow burn while the viewer waits to see what the father will do when his daughter reaches the point of no return. It is a slow journey through a nightmarish landscape. If you are looking for something different with your zombie movie, then you have found it here.