Zombieland (Blu-ray)

A highly contagious virus has turned most of the Earth’s population into killer zombies, though a few survivors remain. One such survivor is nervous, nerdy college student, Columbus (Eisenberg), who is trying to make his way back home to see if his parents are still alive. Along the way he meets Tallahassee (Harrelson), a gun-toting, ‘Twinkie’-loving lone warrior with a knack for wiping out the undead.

Together they must battle the hordes of zombies and keep their wits about them if they are going to survive the apocalypse, though when they meet a couple of young con-girls (Stone and Breslin), Columbus and Tallahassee might have met their match.

A lively, fun-loving and ultimately silly foray into zombie territory, Ruben Fleischer’s undead outing is difficult not to like, at least in parts. The film hits the ground running with a wonderfully colourful opening that outlines the rules of staying alive in a zombie-infested world, and with some neat visual tricks, plenty of disgusting flesh-eating action and a wicked sense of humour, Zombieland seems destined for living dead cult status. A fairground climax provides plenty of invigorating action too, with Harrelson a complete hoot as the cowboy hat-wearing zombie killer, but it’s the bit in the middle that sags, which leaves the brilliant cast with not a great deal to do other than smash up a store, reminisce about their old lives and crash Bill Murray’s house (which, to be fair, is pretty funny).

Horror fans that demand little more than a few laughs and a few blasts of gore should find plenty of mileage in Zombieland though, and the Blu-ray adds to the re-watchability value with some decent extras.

First up, there’s an entertaining commentary from the director, the two writers and Harrelson and Eisenberg, plus, there’s a sporadic ‘picture-in-picture’ feature (exclusive to Blu-ray) which takes you behind the scenes during key moments in the film. There’s further ‘behind the scenes’ footage with the ‘In Search Of Zombieland’ and ‘Zombieland Is Your Land’ featurettes, which include further discussions with the cast and crew.

The film looks and sounds pretty terrific on Blu-ray, with a consistently sharp and clean picture. Some of the super slow motion shots look stunning in hi-def, boasting an incredible amount of detail, and the colourful production is rendered beautifully.

The soundtrack kicks ass too. The music presents an aggressive and bass-rich accompaniment, while the DTS 5.1 audio does wonders with the sound effects, from eardrum-bursting gunshots to the wince-inducing sounds of tearing flesh. It’s a hi-def loving, zombie fanatic’s wet dream.

Overall Verdict: A flawed but enjoyable zombie flick, and an undead delight on Blu-ray.

Special Features:
Movie IQ
‘Beyond The Graveyard’ PIP Track
Audio Commentary With Cast And Crew
‘In Search Of Zombieland’ Featurette
‘Zombieland Is Your Land’ Featurette
Deleted Scenes
‘Visual Effects Progression Scenes’
Trailers

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths