Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua, the film depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection.
The plot focuses on the struggle of a scientist, a teacher, and two soldiers who embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
The children are imprisoned by a group of soldiers led by Sergeant Eddie Parks, and go to school at an army base in the Home Counties, where they are experimented on by Dr. Caroline Caldwell.
The group reaches London by foot and makes their way through a swarm of dormant hungries using a "blocker" gel that masks their scent, rendering them largely invisible.
Caldwell, injured and dying of sepsis, reasons that she can save the human race by sacrificing Melanie to complete her vaccine research in the lab.
The film ends with a tearful Justineau, safe but confined to the sealed mobile lab due to the lethal spore-filled air.
[7] The title is a reference to the ancient Greek legend of Pandora the gift-giver, which is also referenced in the book by the character of Helen Justineau being a classics teacher.
Principal photography began on 17 May 2015 in The West Midlands, taking place in Birmingham city centre, Cannock Chase, Dudley and Stoke-on-Trent.
[12] Aerial views of a deserted London were filmed with drones in the abandoned Ukrainian town of Pripyat, which has been uninhabited since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The website's consensus reads: "The Girl with All the Gifts grapples with thought-provoking questions without skimping on the scares—and finds a few fresh wrinkles in the well-worn zombie horror genre along the way.
[16] Dave Robinson of Crash Landed described the film as a "tense and intriguing experience" noting that whilst its final act "goes a little off the reservation" the performance of lead Sennia Nanua will "make you both care [for her] and simultaneously feel on edge" along with the "smart choices" in the CGI department to create a "grounded feel" that offers clear similarities to 28 Days Later.