Nicholas Hoult feels dead inside at the start of this offbeat romantic comedy, mainly because he's a zombie. But writer/director Jonathan Levine (50/50) breaks the rules of the genre by giving us an undead hero, R, who is able to think deeply about his life (or lack of it) and conveys this in a rib-tickling voiceover. That residual spark of humanity is fanned into something warmer thanks to mortal blonde Julie (Teresa Palmer), whose boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco) literally gives R some food for thought - because eating his brains allows him to experience old memories of Julie. The plot does lumber a bit, as Julie barely reacts to Perry's death and yet inspires R to feel again. Still, the interplay between the couple is surprisingly tender and witty, with a shot of adrenaline later on when R faces off with Julie's zombie hunter dad (a rabid John Malkovich) and an army of lethal skeleton zombies. It's not seamless, but Hoult carries the burden gracefully, even with a lopsided gait.