ZOMBIELAND

Zombieland

(Long Island, N.Y.) Mixing film genres can be a difficult task to get right. Usually there's not enough of one, too much of the other, and so on. And the two genres I notice being melded the most throughout the years are horror and comedy. Sure, you'll get the success stories like Creepshow, Ghostbusters, or Sean of the Dead, but that's only after wading through toxic sludge like Scary Movie, Killer Condom, or Zombie Strippers (no, I didn't make those last two up). Like Reese's realized when they invented the venerated Peanut Butter Cup, you have to walk a fine line when mixing two very different ingredients in order to get it right..

And that brings us to today's review: Zombieland, directed by Ruben Fleischereich (his first feature-length endeavor). It's a lighthearted film about (if the title didn't clue you in) zombies starring Woody Harrelson. The plot itself is as simple and clichéd as any zombie flick you'd care to mention: Earth is consumed by an undead apocalypse and only small pockets of humanity remain. A college student called Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is heading to Columbus, Ohio to try and find his parents, and along the way he runs into a Twinkie-obsessed zombie hunter called Tallahassee (Harrelson). The two hit it off (sort of) and become traveling companions.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: their names aren't REALLY Columbus and Tallahassee...that's just where they're both respectively heading, geographically speaking. In a world where every second could be your last, the way our heroes avoid painful attachments is to keep their names to themselves. You see, Columbus and company live by a set of safety rules (keep up with your cardio, check the back seat, etc) which are referenced throughout the movie, similar to what you'd find in Max Brook's humorous book "The Zombie Survival Guide" (available for sale at your local retailer! And no, I'm not getting kickbacks). You see, you need to follow strict guidelines to increase your chances of survival when living in a world filled with re-animated flesh-eating corpses. It's just common sense, folks.

Anyway, our duo start ransacking a grocery store in search of delicious creme-filled sponge cakes when they meet Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), two girls headed to...well, Wichita and Little Rock. Now, over the course of Zombieland, these two ladies basically con Columbus and Tallahassee over and over, but in typical stupid male movie character fashion, the dim-witted guys keep falling for it. Eventually, an uneasy truce is declared and, after a change of plans, the group decides to head to an abandoned amusement park called Pacific Playland, a supposed safe haven in a world gone to hell. But uncertainty abounds- even if they manage to make it there in one piece, what will they find? Romance? Human survivors? Vicious zombie clowns? Twinkies? Actor Bill Murray pretending to be a zombie so he can work on his golf game without interruptions?

Nahh, that last one is too silly to be real. Or...IS it?

Zombieland is funny, fast-paced, and for fans of gratuitous violence and gore, there's plenty to ensure that Zombieland easily earns its "R" rating. After all, it's a movie about cannibalistic living corpses and humans with lots of guns, gardening equipment, and banjos. Put the two together, add water, mix, and you're sure to have yourself one heck of a mess. However, Zombieland never goes too far with the guts and sinew- if the bloodstained climax of George Romero's Day of the Dead still gets you a little queasy, Zombieland might be a bit more your speed.

Zombieland also eschews the annoying habit of modern film running lengths going over the 2 1/2 hour mark- it's a scant 87 minutes long, a length which can make even a bad movie almost watchable (simply because there's less pain), but a good movie even better. After all, I can't count the number of flicks I've seen that would have been enjoyable had they not obnoxiously outstayed their welcome by as long as 20-40 minutes. Zombieland wisely doesn't fall prey to the annoying "more is more" trend adopted by more and more filmmakers. Always leave 'em wanting more, folks.

Okay, I'm not using the word "more" again in this review. Sorry.

I'm happy to finally see Woody Harrelson in a leading role once again after a long series of smaller roles in recent years. Hopefully Zombieland's box office success will continue this trend, as Woody still possesses the charisma and physicality to carry a leading role, even when pushing 50. The rest of the cast does a fine job as well, all of them establishing characters that you actually grow to care about. Harrelson and Eisenberg possess good chemistry together, and Stone and Breslin provide excellent foils for them. And Bill Murray's cameo is a joy- they guy just continues to get better and better with age.

But that's not to say that Zombieland is a home run. The characters of Wichita and Little Rock keep screwing over Columbus and Tallahassee so often that it's hard to feel any sympathy for them when they finally get into a legit bad situation and need bailing out. And the situation they get themselves into will basically leave you shaking your head at their complete lack of brains...if keeping a low profile is the key to survival in a world overrun by the undead, you don't start up every light and ride in an amusement part, genius.

But other than that minor annoyance, Zombieland delivers. It manages to enter the rather overcrowded zombie film market and successfully carve out its own unique and entertaining niche in it. Highly recommended.

Christopher Boyle

October 8, 2009 11:45 AM Eastern

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