"The United States of ZOMBIELAND"...Comedy, Action, Splatterfests and "Twinkies"!!

Zombies have become such a great delicacy in the horror genre; they have become almost as malleable and adaptive as the vampire when it comes to genre mixing. We’ve seen them in horror, action, comedy and even video games. One would argue that the current winner of the zombie comedy crown is either “Shaun of the Dead” or “Fido”. Director Ruben Fleischer isn’t seeking to reinvent the zombie-comedy-splatter fest with “ZOMBIELAND” but he does get the mechanics and the feel just about right. The film is funny, bloody and full of elements that just screams “cult hit”.
 

After an unknown disease had wiped out most of the world’s population that turned ordinary humans into cannibalistic creatures, it leaves only a few living survivors that are barely making ends meet. Among them, is a young man who we shall call “Columbus” (Jesse Eisenberg) who has set up his own personal set of rules to help him survive the zombie siege. He meets up with a zombie hunter who we shall call “Tallahassee” (Woody Harrelson) who is just so bad-ass that he enjoys what he does best--kill zombies while looking for “Twinkies”. The two resolve to travel East hoping to find whatever remains of their homes. On the way, they become hindered by a young woman who we shall call “Wichita” (Emma Stone) and her sister “Little Rock” (Abigail Breslin), the two drifters are on their way to visit their beloved theme park in California. The foursome are distrusting at first, but they soon begin to bond and trust each other. This newfound friendship is finally put to the test when zombies lay siege on whatever the four have left.


 

Hell, what is up with zombies these days? I guess one may say there is just nothing more entertaining than watching zombies get blasted to bits. Fleischer is well aware what exactly he is up against here; it would be extremely difficult to get a 100% original zombie movie but he does manage to get the right materials and elements to charm the gorehound (although I was a bit disappointed with the use of CGI in some scenes), the horror-fan while boosting the gregarious tone of laughs. I would even say that the movie may well be able to win over the non-zombie fan. The movie is just resolute in its aim to entertain and in many ways it does succeed. The movie is just hilarious and kindhearted that even manages to generate its share of shocks.
 

I guess the film’s charm would have to come from its two main characters. The movie is being narrated by Columbus and once you see the style with which he breaks down his rules (while being accompanied by on-screen typography) you know exactly what you are in for; Rule #1: Cardio, Rule # 2: Double Tap, rule # 3: Beware of bathrooms and so on. The movie is just fun and being narrated by Eisenberg, who sounded very sincere, real and human; it makes the movie easier to connect with. He admits to being a virgin and has a nerdy disposition, the guy is undoubtedly the weakest of the group. The movie is seen through Columbus’ point of view and I thought Eisenberg’s character gave the movie a feeling of warmth and heart.
 

 

Tallahassee is the redneck hunter that also has his own set of rules and among them is never become attached and never use real first names; which is why they call themselves though the names of the towns they hail from. Woody Harrelson provides the balance to Eisenberg’s character and some needed friction between the two, The movie comes off strong as we see the exchanges between the two but admittedly, Harrelson becomes the film‘s main draw. The man is just so funny when he needs to be. Emma Stone is also very charming and sexy as the tough Wichita that I was convinced that Columbus could immediately develop a crush on her. The cast is just good as they develop some dynamic chemistry with their characterization coming in the form of flashbacks.



Ok, so just how exactly does the movie perform as a splatter fest? Well, it does perform quite nicely.
 I know what you are thinking, a zombie comedy has to have several creative kills of the undead, actually Tallahassee and Columbus calls it “zombie kill of the week”; and you can see that kill in the trailer. The way the zombies are dispatched by our protagonists aren’t really that special but when delivered by Tallahassee, with his raw attitude, humor and intensity; it becomes very cool. The zombies in this movie aren’t your shambling undead in any of Romero’s flicks, but these are the zombies of “28 Days Later”. They are fast-moving and have their own level of minor intelligence.
 

The script by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese is full of zany, jaw-cracking laughs that can back up its cock-eyed heart. The filmmakers freely admitted that this film was inspired by “Shaun of the Dead” and this horror-comedy is done just right. The direction by Fleischer is obviously going for something a little primeval than just funny, and he uses some tricks with the camera (most notably some slow-motion) to express the gory kills. It is effective, when it shows the innocent being tackled by flesh-eating zombies or the zombies’ brains being splattered; the scenes are just cool to watch. I also liked his choice in the movie’s soundtrack; Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is so fitting to the film’s look and style.


 

Now the movie isn’t perfect, as the screenplay reaches its midpoint in the famous celebrity’s mansion (who also makes a cameo appearance) it becomes rather too formulaic and predictable. I have to say that the film lost some of its fun factor when we see the script fall into the usual trappings of “young love”. It didn’t exactly hurt the film in a way that can’t be recovered, but when it did slow down, it lost some of its comedic footing. I guess its main weakness would be, that while the film generated tons of fun in the form of machine guns, baseball bats, “snowballs”, painting Earnhardt numbers on every stolen vehicle, running down and beating zombies, “Zombieland” doesn’t offer anything very significant in its storyline. I did enjoy the way that the action was taken to a theme park, I thought this was a great way to save the slow points of the film.
 

While “Zombieland” isn’t the best zombie movie out there but it makes the best of what its got. The movie is witty, fun and very enjoyable. It does lose some gas in the halfway point, but Fleischer knew how to treat the material right. I guess it would be safe to say that “you don’t need any social commentary to make a fun zombie movie“. The film is just cheerfully bloody and visceral, and Fleischer knows how to make a simple premise work…and work very nicely.
 

Recommended! [3 ½+ Stars]