Zombieland (2009) - Film Review
An Easygoing Zom-Com With Brains And Heart
Zombies. Much like their silver screen tendency for amassing in herds, they seem to be lurking everywhere in modern popular culture. Fans of these ravenous, animated corpses used to have to settle for repeat viewings of obscure Italian shockers and George A. Romero's seminal Living Dead series, but the creatures now threaten to usurp the throne of their more popular undead relative the vampire.
The present day zombie zeitgeist was certainly kick-started by the one-two-three cinema punches of 28 Days Later (which, yes, is technically a "living infected" movie), Shaun of the Dead and Zack Snyder's stylish remake of Dawn of the Dead. Suddenly, as these brain-seeking automatons discovered the act of running, they also speedily invaded literature with Max Brooks' deadpan survival tomes and the recently released Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Jesse Eisenberg - Always Wear Seatbelts In Undead Territory
Zombie aficionados may grow disheartened by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer's desire to distance his product from its many rotting peers. His comments are either calculated or naive, as since its inception the genre has always been about far more than gore and hungry, hungry corpses. Whether as disease allegory or social commentary, zombie flicks amount to more than mere horror trash. While stirring romance and laughs into the mix may not be a revolutionary concept, it certainly adds a heaping helping of fun.
Screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (both of Spike TV's The Joe Schmo Show) have taken a page from Shaun of the Dead, concocting a self-aware comedy that aims more at emulating Superbad than paying homage to Lucio Fulci films. Its unlikely hero is an inexperienced, tech-addicted college kid with irritable bowel syndrome, as portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg (who seemingly attended the Michael Cera School Of Acting For Nervous, Nerdy Overtalkers).
This virginal boy-with-no-name (though known as "Columbus" in reference to his preferred Ohio travel destination) sees no difference between the world's tedious pre-zom existence and the post-apocalyptic mayhem caused by viral gas station hamburger meat. His primary desire is to find a cute girl that will let him brush her hair behind her ear, the only obstacle to this goal being a country populated almost entirely by the walking dead.
Woody Harrelson - Killing Zombies In The Name Of Hostess Twinkies
Enter Woody Harrelson's pitch-perfect badass Tallahassee, a banjo-wieldin', zombie-hatin' sumbitch who plows through deserted highways in a cow-catcher equipped Escalade. Whereas Columbus keeps alive through a meticulous (and hilarious) list of Transporter-esque rules (always limber up before zombie encounters and watch out for bathrooms and back seats), Tallahassee loves violent encounters with the undead. And Twinkies.
There's a bit of a Fight Club mentality at play, as Harrelson's empowered Tyler Durden clone teaches Eisenberg's benumbed Padawan to "feel" again through mindless acts of urban destruction. And as in all zombie films, stasis can only ever be fleeting. Thus, these odd-couple travel partners quickly find themselves at the business end of gun barrels wielded by a pair of young female con-artists (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin).
Zombieland - More Fun Than Riding A Roller Coaster With Shotguns
Where Zombieland truly diverges from the pack is in its decision to discard the bleak inevitability inherent in most zombie pictures. Even the antic Shaun of the Dead's third act was steeped in despair. Yet here, neither carelessness nor human nature will ruin the day. In Zombieland, a post-humankind ghost planet is both literally and figuratively an amusement park wherein action film good guys can shoot down every last mangled corpse without suffering a single virulent scratch.
With this subdued sense of danger, moderate amounts of viscera and only four characters to hold the audience's attention, Zombieland needs to score with its story. Thankfully, it does - and even when it threatens to drag during some extended highway scenes, an inspired celebrity cameo saves the day with copious laughs. While the film is never that scary, it nonetheless never fails to entertain - just beware of the trailer that gives away so many of its inspired gags.
It also looks stunning from the get-go, with clever use of title graphics and a wealth of epic slow motion mini scenarios. The hip soundtrack deserves mention, balancing kitschy retro junk such as Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters with the chugging guitar riffs of vintage Metallica. While Zombieland may come off to some as trying overly hard to be hyper-quirky and too cool for school, it ultimately achieves life through its unbridled charm, clever dialogue and a killer cast. An instant cult classic.
Rating: 8 out of 10
- Zombieland
- Directed by Ruben Fleischer
- Written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese
- Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
- Running Time: 82 Minutes
The Cast Of Zombieland
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