Written by: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, a s***load of zombies and one guest appearance that only adds to the awesomeness of the film…
I was given a chance to see an advance screening of the new flick Zombieland in NYC the other night and I wanted to see how well the latest attempt to tackle the zombie genre would fare. Zombie movies are no stranger to the Hollywood landscape and audiences have been scared out of their seats since 1932 and the very first zombie film “White Zombie” starring the legendary Bela Lugosi premiered. Since then there have been some pretty damn amazing zombie movies; “Dawn of the Dead”, “28 Days Later”, “Dead Snow”, and “Re-Animator” fall into that category and at the opposite end of the spectrum you have “Zombie Cheerleader Camp”, “Zombie Ninja Gangbangers” and “Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane”. AND that’s not even skimming the surface of zombie flicks that have plagued the silver screen over the years. So I have to admit that whenever I see that a new zombie flick is being released I sort of cringe and prepare for the worst. This is especially true when it comes to comedy zombie flicks. This too has been (pardon the term) beaten to death over the years and the last movie that actually got it right was the 2004 film “Shawn of the Dead”. As far as I’m concerned SOTD is one of the greatest zombie flicks of all time and no film has come close to combining comedy with horror. Well that is until Zombieland…
There is absolutely NOTHING not to enjoy about this film! The movie stars Woody Harrelson is “Tallahassee” and Jesse Eisenberg is “Columbus”, and the two characters are as different as day and night. Tallahassee is the “bad-ass zombie killer” and Columbus is the one with “the guts of a guppy”, both men have very different agendas. One is in search of the last box of Twinkies and one is trying to make his way back home to see if his family is still alive. Yet despite their differences and agendas, these two characters have learned to work together as a pretty formidable duo and somehow manage to survive in a world overrun with zombies. It doesn’t hurt that the two share a great chemistry and gel well together in pretty much every scene.. The duo make their way across what’s left of the American landscape kicking zombie ass in ways that have never been seen before and it’s not too long before we’re introduced to Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin who star as sisters who have also learned how to survive in this world gone mad through following their own credo and agenda. Speaking of Emma Stone, how come I don’t remember Emma Stone being this sexy in Superbad?
Anyway, I digress. Where the hell was I? Oh yeah, after a little classic game of cat & mouse between the two duos they eventually find that there is indeed something to the old saying “strength in numbers” and find themselves joining forces. The movie does have its share of many “laugh out loud” moments, especially with any scene that involved Harrelson showing of Tallahassee’s zombie-killing skills! And while the audience found itself laughing out loud during these scenes, I don’t want anyone thinking that it was all laughs and zero horror. Zombieland offers up plenty of blood and gore for horror fans as well. In the past Hollywood has been known to play up the easy gore factor or play up the cheap laugh factor, yet with Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer has managed to provide us with a perfect mixture of both. Come to think of it, I’d have to say that the film had just the right amount of both factors with neither element overpowering the other. If you are looking for a good horror film, go see Zombieland; if you’re looking for a good comedy film, go see Zombieland; and if you’re looking to see one of the best films of 2009, then GO SEE ZOMBIELAND! Trust me when I say, “you will NOT be let down!” And make sure that you stay through the credits for an extra special scene.
