Arnold Schwarzenegger shows us his softer side in "Maggie," a post-apocalyptic indie drama about life, death and zombies.

"Maggie" stars Abigail Breslin as a teen who gets infected with the zombie virus. Now, her father, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, must decide whether he should send her away to a government-sanctioned quarantine unit to be killed or kill her himself. Yeah, this film is "Walking Dead"-levels of bleak.

Speaking to MTV News at a press day ahead of the film's release, Schwarzenegger and co-star Joely Richardson explain how the film subverts tired zombie tropes and why it was important for Schwarzenegger to be vulnerable for once.

"It wasn't so much that it was a zombie movie," he said. "It was more the relationship between the father and the daughter -- the unbelievable love between the two."

And it's that unconditional love that inspired Schwarzenegger's most vulnerable performance to date. If you're hoping to see the action star take out a swarm of zombies à la Daryl Dixon on "The Walking Dead," then prepare to be disappointed.

"I like that I played a vulnerable character," he said. "Normally, we always see me in the movies wiping out the enemy, no matter what is in my way, it will get destroyed and eliminated. Here, I cannot eliminate this virus. I can do nothing about it. I just have to slowly watch my daughter die. It's a horrible situation to be in."

That's not to say, however, that Schwarzenegger doesn't get to take out a few zombies.

"Maggie" hits theaters May 8.