Maggie 2015

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Bidding to be the "Terms of Endearment" of zombie movies, "Maggie" sucks all the life out of an idea that just won't die. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: An unlikely proposition on paper, this Arnold Schwarzenegger-Abigail Breslin zombie movie offers a moving twist on the genre. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Maggie plays, in a way, like Schwarzenegger's Million Dollar Baby. Set aside the monster stuff, and it's basically the story of a macho icon asked to commit an act of unbearable but merciful violence. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: If you thought there was nothing new under the zombie-themed sun, or that Arnold Schwarzenegger can't act, give "Maggie" a try. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: If only freshman director Henry Hobson was even more committed to his intriguing strategy for showcasing his unlikely star, and kept things quiet throughout. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The problem, aside from not much going on, is that Schwarzenegger remains a severely limited actor, so there's not that much character to study. Potentially interesting concept; wrong star. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: The sight of Schwarzenegger in this small, subdued role makes us root for his survival. That's the power of star wattage at work. Not even the undead can kill it. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: A terminal-illness family drama in which the ailment happens to be zombieism, Henry Hobson's Maggie does the genre mashup thing without an ounce of tongue-in-cheek attitude. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The plot is lean, the dialogue is spare and there are some intriguing stabs at intellectual and emotional terrain. But the pacing is deadly, so slow there might be time for a catnap or two without missing anything important. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's hard to figure out what's supposed to keep us interested in this very grim, very grey tale. Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: Casting Schwarzenegger is such an eyebrow-raising choice that the film seemed destined to be something different. So the fact that it emerges as a sleepy, half-formed thing is disappointing ... Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Its creepy atmosphere aside, "Maggie" is a slog of the living dead. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: It's a sad story, or would be if the zombie apocalypse backdrop - and the inky splotches creeping across Maggie's body - didn't wreak such havoc with the movie's unsmiling sincerity. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Zombie gore is kept to a minimum, a fact likely to disappoint audiences out for blood. It's a changed Schwarzenegger on view in Maggie, and the change becomes him. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: An art film. About zombies. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Read more

Michael Ordona, San Francisco Chronicle: Despite the novel premise and the strong acting - yes, strong acting in a Schwarzenegger movie - "Maggie" simply doesn't take root. That's sad to admit, because it's the kind of film one wished were better. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This fatalist little indie is an A-for-effort movie with C-minus entertainment value. Read more

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: "Maggie" appears as though it was shot through a variety of Instagram filters - a dusty grey for the exteriors, and a warm, oversaturated orange for the interiors. Also, even at a brisk 95 minutes, the runtime feels like a stretch. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Ultimately, neither the brain-eating genre or the heart-breaking one is enhanced by this mash-up. Like Celine Dion's cover of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long, file it under the category of "interesting-but-why?" Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: It's a new twist on the zombie genre, one that was verging on being done to death. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: Hobson resists the temptation to spice things up with more traditional scares, and the film never allows its ghoulish window dressing to overwhelm the simple story of a father losing his oldest child. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: The performances in Maggie are strong. The camera is often right up in the characters' faces, putting Schwarzenegger's lived-in, world-weary mug to good use and telegraphing Breslin's vulnerability. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Despite its stylistic affectations, Maggie is a thought-provoking blend of post-apocalyptic thriller, teen weeper and horror flick, infused with more intelligence and humanism than that description might imply. Read more

Simon Abrams, Village Voice: Schwarzenegger may be Maggie's main attraction, but he's so inessential to the film's drama that he could easily be replaced by a grimacing, monosyllabic pull-string doll. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Most of Maggie is so dark you can barely make out the zombies or the humans. It also moves more slowly than the ghouls. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The film suffers a bit for its slowness. But once you get used to the fact that this is not "World War Z," it has its small pleasures, which are both cerebral and emotional. Read more