The last time audiences saw Jesse Eisenberg, he was fighting off stunning teenage women as a nerdy theme park attendant in Adventureland. His latest role sees him in roughly the same nerdy incarnation, albeit this time fighting off a completely different breed… literally.
Columbus (Eisenberg) is one of the few survivors of a nation decimated by a virus that’s turned its victims into ravenous zombies. Columbus is now dodging the infected while staggering his way across states to his home town of Columbus, Ohio, in the vein hope of finding his family still alive.
Jesse Eisenberg on Familiar Territory
As far as the natural selection of a zombie apocalypse goes, Columbus doesn’t seem like a born survivor. He’s a self-confessed loner, reclusive of a society he has little or nothing in common with. He’s a never-been-kissed loser in love who only ever wanted to settle down with a nice girl he could take home to meet the folks. Unfortunately he gave up on a world that didn’t take to him, and now has more of a relationship with the un-dead than he ever did with the living.
Columbus has accumulated a list of key principles to surviving zombieland, a zombie bible if you like. They’re the kind of tactics that go unheeded in most zombie movies, leading to the demise of most screaming blondes and hot headed college boys. Everything from remembering to double tap your zombie, to checking the back seat of any commandeered vehicle, they’re simple rules and ones that are tailor made for Columbus’ by-the-book attitude. But ultimately they’ll save your life.
On his travels Columbus crosses paths with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a rogue, untrusting Texan (from Tallahassee no less) who reluctantly agrees to take the youngster half way to Columbus with him. Only after the two come across two damsels in distress - Wichita and her young companion Little Rock (no need to tell you where they’re from) - does their journey become side tracked. The young women are not as innocent as they first seem, and a rescue party is the last thing they’re after.
Zombieland – A Clever New Take on the Horror Genre
Immediate comparisons will be with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s comedy classic Shaun of the Dead, and as far as zombie spoofs go it’s a fairly reliable barometer with which to measure all others. However, Zombieland deserves special dispensation, as Ruben Fleischer’s film doesn’t appear to be a straight parody of the horror genre in the way Shaun was It’s very much a ‘Hollywood’ comedy with a sentimental edge moulded around the premise of a zombie apocalypse rather than a direct comedic homage to zombie films gone by.
That’s not to say Zombieland is a poor relation to the Shaun of the Deads of this world. It brings something quite refreshing to the screen with its use of Columbus’ voiceover explaining proceedings - not a technique usually employed in a horror movie. The high-end effects also deserve particular credit. A big budget is something not often afforded, nor does it really work, in this genre. Yet Zombieland doesn’t over egg the effects pudding, instead falling comfortably somewhere between a moneymaking Hollywood showpiece and intelligent indie comedy.
Zombieland Verdict
Mention must also go to Woody Harrelson, whose brash non-compromising Texan provides the perfect contrast to Eisenberg’s intelligent yet timid Columbus. The two develop a genuinely likeable on-screen partnership while discovering new and inventive ways of ‘tapping’ zombieland’s hostile inhabitants. Tallahassee can indeed be regarded as one of Harrelson’s best comedic performances, alongside his roles in King Pin and White Men Can’t Jump. But the comedic spoils are nearly stolen by a fantastic celebrity cameo on the mid-point. Fans of the deadpan variety will be pleasantly surprised at the screen legend portraying a distorted version of himself.
While you won’t be bowled over by Zombieland’s hilarity, or the fragile coming-of-age storyline at the film’s core, it’s worth seeing for the directorial creativity alone. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have clearly watched a considerable number of zombie movies in the past and their exploitation of the codes and conventions of the genre are genuinely interesting, playing on the frustrations we’ve all experienced when watching the idiocy of many a horror movie character. Shaun of the Dead this isn’t – a tad light on the humour front if truth be told – but highly enjoyable nonetheless.
Verdict: 3.5/5
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