Zombieland

A nerdy young man (Jesse Eisenberg) is trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies, and as he soon tells us he’s compiled a seemingly never-ending dos and don’ts to help ensure he doesn’t get feasted on by the living dead, such as ‘Beware of bathrooms’ and ‘Don’t be a hero’. He’s on the road and soon hooks up with fellow survivor, Tallahassee (Harrelson), who dubs him Columbus (as he’s nominally headed to see if his parents are still alive in Ohio). However while Columbus is all nerdy neurosis, Tallahassee is a cowboy road warrior, who likes nothing better than finding new ways to kill the undead.

During Tallahassee’s obsessive search for Twinkies, they come across two young female con-women, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), after which they all decide to head for an amusement park outside LA, which is supposedly zombie free, stopping off along the way in Beverly Hills to allow for a wonderful cameo from Bill Murray, playing himself (although the less revealed about that, the better).

In many respects the plot is just an excuse to let rip with plenty of inventive zombie deaths, quite a few laughs and, most importantly, Woody Harrelson being allowed to show what a fearless and funny guy he is when he’s got the right role, all ending with a massive undead battle at a theme park, which seems an oddly fitting place in which to finish a comedy horror.

Although it won’t challenge Shaun Of The Dead undead comedy crown, Zombieland is a lot of fun, thanks to a witty script, plenty of pace and verve from first time director Ruben Fleischer, and great performances from Eisenberg and Harrelson. While there a stretches where nothing much happens, it’s still an amiable road trip, and when the zombie killings do come, they’re gory, funny and often very inventive. Even the potentially annoying rules of survival are good fun, with the plot showing why some of the seemingly random laws are necessary, while Columbus adds a few new ones and revises a few more as his adventure continues.

Zombieland even manages to have a few genuinely touching moments, which is pretty unusual for this sort of film, but just goes to show how invested in the characters you get (yes, I know, a horror film with real characters – what will they think of next!). Comedy horror is a tough genre to get right, and most attempts fail miserably, but Zombieland is a lot of fun, especially if you like the idea of watching Woody Harrelson kicking undead ass in every way imaginable.

Overall Verdict: A very entertaining road trip comedy horror, with just enough gore and laughs, mixed with some good performances.

Reviewer: Sam Bruneau