Maggie, film review: Arnold Schwarzenegger gives soulful performance in family drama

(15) Henry Hobson, 95 mins. Starring: Abigail Breslin, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to attack the living dead as a farmer desperate to look after his infected daughter

Maggie is a moody family drama, which just happens to be set in a world full of zombies.

As Wade Vogel, a farmer desperate to look after his infected daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin), Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to attack the living dead but gives one of his more soulful performances. The daughter is showing zombie-like symptoms that go beyond the pains of adolescence. Breslin brings pathos to the teenager whose body is turning against her.

Yet this is a contrived mish-mash of genres. It feels more like a terminal-illness melodrama than a horror film. Trying to make a sensitive zombie movie turns out to be a self-defeating endeavour.