The Film
When action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger is cast in a "zombie apocalypse" film you likely expect non-stop action and a massive body count. In this respect, Maggie may surprise you. This is not an action-packed film, and Schwarzenegger is truly playing against his typical action hero persona.
Instead, this film takes a more savage look at a "zombie" outbreak where Schwarzenegger plays a man who must face that his daughter - the titular Maggie (played by Abigail Breslin) - has been infected with a disease that will eventually turn her into one of the undead. Instead of typical survival horror setup where the characters fight for survival, Schwarzenegger instead is simply a grieving father who is watching his daughter transform day by day, knowing that there is nothing he can do to stop it; while at the same time he is faced with trying to protect her from those who fear the transformation.
The story moves slowly - painfully at times - and in some ways is probably a more realistic take on how such a "zombie outbreak" would affect the rural areas of the country. There is no mass exodus by the characters or hordes of zombies; instead it is a slow but steady infection that overwhelms medical facilities, and everyday people do what they can to stop its spread. Life goes on but as with the title character's infection the coming zombie threat is constant and the end is nearer every day. While no zombie film could be considered "uplifting" this one is downright depressing from start to finish, and as such is almost painful to take in.
Breslin does a commendable job as a teen who must accept her fate, but Schwarzenegger is totally miscast as he plays against his usual save-the-day tough guy persona. Seeing him beaten down, instead of terminating those around him, only makes this film even more difficult to watch.
The Picture
Maggie is, however, one of those films that benefits from the HD experience in subtle ways; subtle but so important ways. The 1080p 2.40:1 presentation allows the viewer to see the slow transformation on Breslin's Maggie, from the hollowness in her eyes to the pale skin to the slow appearance of dead veins on her back and later face. Through the 95 minutes the viewer is able to take in the transformation visually in ways that a lower resolution would fail to deliver.
The picture is generally free of any artifacts or other distractions, but even so Maggie isn't much of a visual "treat." The color palette is mostly earth tones and the muted grey that accompanies the rotting of the world as well as the infected characters. The end of the world does look depressingly good on this Blu-ray.
The Sound
As with the visuals, the sound plays a small but important part of the overall presentation in Maggie. Again, this is no action flick so don't expect a lot of gunfire or mortar blasts -- the sounds here are more subtle in nature. Just as Maggie transforms visually so does her respiration - which begins to sound more and more like the typical rotting rasp of zombies in other movies and TV shows. These audio cues increase throughout the movie, and the English 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack really helps bring it to life (or to death, as the case may be).
Ambient sound is used effectively in other ways such as the sound of a trapped animal and the constant wind of the Kansas prairie. About the only thing the DTS-HD MA soundtrack can't improve upon is Schwarzenegger's thick Austrian accent, which still sounds wildly out of place in Kansas.
The Extras
This Blu-ray isn't exactly jam-packed with bonus materials, but it does include a "Making Maggie" featurette and a director commentary from Henry Hobson. Perhaps some other material could have helped this presentation, but the movie has attempted to do more with less and given the fact that this is essentially a straight-to-video release (the film lasted only two weeks in theaters) the minimal amount of bonus materials is almost to be expected.
Final Thoughts
The zombie apocalypse thing isn't exactly played out -- it continues to be popular with movies and TV series. As noted, it usually involves lots of running, screaming and fighting off the undead. Few of these efforts deal with the truly personal aspect of such an outbreak during the early stages, when society isn't overwhelmed yet. How do you deal with those who are slowly transforming to into the "undead?"
Maggie tries to provide an answer; and while Breslin -- a former Academy Award nominee -- does a good job of "humanizing" a soon-to-be zombie, the casting of Schwarzenegger as her father actually derails the effort. At some point we just hope too much he'll snap out of it and start doing the terminating thing, all while knowing that the end is all too near.
Product Details
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