MOVIE REVIEW - ZOMBIELAND

ZOMBIELAND – REVIEW

10 out of 10

What can I say?  Zombieland is the perfect zombie movie.  A potent mix of horror, gore, action, comedy and buddy movies, the film works on all levels and is seriously the most fun you can possibly have at the movies.  It made me jump, made me laugh and also made me genuinely care about the characters.  The film is a visually arresting, highly stylized treat that entertains all the way through and will leave you wanting more.

The premise of the film is relatively simple.  The world has been overrun by zombies and the few survivors of the human race are constantly on the move trying to find someplace safe to lay their heads at night.  The movie starts out brilliantly with Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) telling us about his rules for survival in post-apocalyptic zombie filled America.  The opening credits ensue and we are shown various scenes of people running from zombies in the slow motion technique popularized by Watchmen.  From there we are introduced to Columbus who explains what has happened to the world and why he has managed to survive so long.  Being an introvert by nature, Columbus has managed to stay alive by sticking to his self created rules such as cardio good, avoid bathrooms and the double tap (always shoot twice).   More rules are introduced as the film plays and the gag never grows old.  Columbus decides to head towards Ohio in hopes that he will find his parents alive and well.  On the way he hooks up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), the most bad ass zombie killer you can imagine.  Just to clarify, the characters call each other by their destinations, not by their actual names.  Tallahassee explains that it’s easier not to grow attached to each other that way.  The pair are complete opposites which allows for some great buddy movie comedy and from here on in Zombieland plays like a road trip comedy on acid.  Attacked by zombies at every turn, the two soon meet up with two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) who have managed to survive and after a few false starts; the foursome begins to trust and like one another.

Woody Harrelson as tough guy zombie slayer Tallahassee is ideally cast and it is the best role of his career.  Harrelson is hilarious in the film, displaying his impeccable comic timing while also showcasing his tough guy swagger.  Watching him kill zombies is as pleasurable for the audience as it is for the character.  Harrelson shares great chemistry with Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus, in effect portraying the Odd Couple as zombie killers.  Eisenberg is solid, perfecting the nerdy, wimpy guy and he reminds me more than a little bit of king of the dweebs, Michael Cera.  In fact Cera must be kicking himself for turning down this role (I’m assuming he was offered it).  Emma Stone as tough older sister, Wichita, is quite good and I believe she has a bright future on the silver screen.  Abigail Breslin as her little sister, Little Rock, is one tough little cookie and proves that she is much more than Little Miss Sunshine.  There is also a side-splitting cameo from… I don’t want to ruin it… let’s just say it is a brilliant cameo from a comedy god.

First time director, Ruben Fleischer, does a great job of moving the film along at a breakneck pace while also mining the comedy gold out of every situation the characters find themselves in.  He has a wonderful visual style that borrows heavily from Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead remake, Watchmen) and he is certainly a director to watch in the future.  It’s not an easy thing to make something fresh out of a zombie flick, but Fleischer takes the genre (sub-genre?) to a whole new level.

To sum it up, Zombieland is a splatteristic, gory, jump out of your seat horror film that also happens to be one of the funniest films of the year.  Anchored by terrific performances, Zombieland is a must see horror/comedy delight.  Better than Shaun of the Dead or Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, Zombieland is the definitive zombie movie.