Zombieland: Film Review: Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson

Once again the world is overrun with virulent zombies, this time spawned by a form of BSE mutation (which, in this case, means the quick-of-foot kind). Jesse Eisenberg plays the role of college student turned post-apocalypse survivalist, who goes by the name of his intended destination and hometown of Columbus, Ohio (names are not shared by survivors, as they lead to emotional attachment).

On his way, Columbus meets the gun-toting, liquer-swilling Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), whose chief preoccupation is tracking down the last Twinkies across America. Add to the mix Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), whose goal is to reach a “zombie-free” amusement park called Pacific Playland, and the stage is set for another outing into the imaginative world of zombie-splatting.

Fleischer’s Zombieland from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s Script

To get straight to the point, let’s look at how Fleischer’s Zombieland, from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s script, compares to just a few of the notable zombie releases in the last ten years.

As this is a horror comedy, it wouldn’t exactly be fair to ask if it measures up to an actually scary film like Rec (2007), so the big question has to be: Does Zombieland deserve the kind of praise reserved for the brilliant standards of a Shaun of the Dead (2004) or Planet Terror (2007)? To be blunt - no. It’s a step up on the mildly enjoyable likes of Dance of the Dead (2008), but in truth a long way short of those others.

With that said, Zombieland seems to have been warmly received by a majority of audiences and reviewers alike, but any film that uses Metallica’s For Whom the Bell Tolls as part of its intro aught to be better than this. Proceedings start well enough as Columbus, Ohio recites the rules that have helped keep him alive through the undead apocalypse, with Woody Harrelson waiting not too far over the horizon. The introduction suggests potential and the script is sharp and funny, with good character humour throughout, but there’s a distinct lack of impetus, despite the fact that it runs at under 90 minutes.

A cameo by Bill Murray is always welcome, but it’s mainly when the film fulfills it’s promise of amusement-park-based zombie-killing that it’s hand has been shown…and it’s really a two-pair at best. This will find its fans in the here and now, but Zombieland will never be remembered as one of the great undead films.

Zombieland Cast

A predominantly young cast is well-led by Jesse Eisenberg (Cursed 2005, Adventureland 2009), and well-supported by Emma Stone (Ghosts of Girlfiends Past 2009), and Abigail Breslin (Signs 2002, Nim’s Island 2008).

Woody Harrelson (White Men Can’t Jump 1992, Natural Born Killers 1994, Kingpin 1996) has had a chequered history of roles, and for a charismatic actor needs better than this in the long run. His Tallahassee is by far the most entertaining aspect of the film and it has to be questioned as to why Harrelson’s part wasn’t written as the lead.

Bill Murray may have only signed on as a cameo, but Harrelson’s innate comedic ability screamed for this film to be centred on his role, rather than aiming the script more-or-less at a teen audience.

Zombieland Summary

By most counts, Zombieland has been a success, taking in over twice it’s $23 million budget at the box-office and Fleisher deserves his success. A good job has been done here, after all.

Relatively new directors and writers seem to be drawn to this sub-genre, largely because a zombie flick doesn’t need a budget that could finance a small war. Plus everybody knows what to expect from zombies, so the script is practically half-written before pen meets paper. The danger, of course, is that the genre has had so many entries in recent years that one more shambling body amidst the ranks of these undead is hardly a good way of getting noticed, and real quality is needed to stand out from the sheer quantity.

Zombieland has quality, but is ultimately a ‘fire-and-forget’ sort of film, that will be lost in the general mire of the zombie genre inside of a few weeks or months. Be sure to check out other reviews of Zombieland on Suite101, which put this article in the minority of being slightly disappointed.

The copyright of the article Zombieland: Film Review in Horror Films is owned by Michael Pantazi. Permission to republish Zombieland: Film Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Oct 18, 2009 12:27 AM

Guest :

I found this movie to be much better than shaun of the dead. Not only because of the better death scenes, but the comedy was so much funnier. Despite shaun of the dead having some of the most inventive melee weapons(cricket bat,ashtray,and whatever the thing with the ball on the end was)in recent memory, zombieland surpasses it tenfold in my opinion.The grocery store scene is both hilarious and brutal thanks in part to the "el kabong" with the banjo and the shears, but the clown zombie kill with the mallot just gets extra points it my book just for hearing the squeak after the hit. But i digress the movie just has a much more human feel than shaun of the dead.It creates an uneasy alliance between the characters in the beginning unseen in in most zombie movies, to me it just makes the characters a little more realistic and draws the viewers in a little more. sincerely jamie at myspace.com/chemojames

Oct 20, 2009 4:41 PM

Michael Pantazi :

Like I say, I think I'll be in the minority with this review, but it just didn't do it for me. For my money, zombie films (of the comedy horror kind) don't get much better than Evil Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Planet Terror or Braindead. Admittedly, I may also be a little jaded with comedy horrors in general - I've been a big fan of them, but lately they seem like a convenient way of reaching out to wider audiences while avoiding the tricky accomplishment of making a genuinely scary film. I would probably enjoy Zombieland more on a second viewing, but I had hoped for something better. Thanks for the feedback though.