‘Zombieland’ is a horror film with a comedic twist
‘Zombieland’ starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail
Breslin and Emma Stone
When it comes to end-of-the world movies, I avoid them like,
well, the plague. I had no desire to see 2004’s
”
The Day After Tomorrow,
”
starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and Emmy Rossum, the
movie about a sudden climate change that leads to the end of the
world. I didn’t see
”
Sunshine,
”
Danny Boyle’s movie about a crew that needs to reignite the
sun’s pilot light before everyone on earth dies, or
”
28 Days,
”
the first in his series about a deadly virus that turns people
into zombies.
‘Zombieland’ is a horror film with a comedic twist
‘Zombieland’ starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone
When it comes to end-of-the world movies, I avoid them like, well, the plague. I had no desire to see 2004’s “The Day After Tomorrow,” starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and Emmy Rossum, the movie about a sudden climate change that leads to the end of the world. I didn’t see “Sunshine,” Danny Boyle’s movie about a crew that needs to reignite the sun’s pilot light before everyone on earth dies, or “28 Days,” the first in his series about a deadly virus that turns people into zombies.
I don’t want to see “2012,” the blockbuster that comes out later this year about the end of the world predicted by the Aztec calendar. And even though it stars Dennis Quaid and Paul Bettany, I won’t be seeing “Legion,” a movie about angels returning to destroy humankind.
But combine the end of the world with zombies and a comedy twist, and I can’t resist. “Zombieland,” a film directed by Ruben Fleisher, does just that. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick borrow from the “28 Days” series in that the zombie outbreak in their film is caused by a virus that comes from a bad burger. Once patient zero is infected, the disease spreads rapidly.
The movie has all the blood and guts of a typical horror film, but it has a sense of humor about it all. The vast majority of the cast is made up of zombies (uncredited in the film) who are actually quite quick when going after their prey, unlike the zombies of old monster movies that lumbered along, if dumb about how they do it.
The central character is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) who is the perfect anti-hero as a nerdy college kid who was afraid of everything before the zombie infection struck. So imagine his anxiety level after. He is in Texas for school, but after the zombie virus infects most of the population, he sets out alone to Columbus, Ohio, where he hopes his family has survived. He has created a long list of rules that have helped him survive in Zombieland. They include such things as cardio, the double tap (which means get each zombie twice to assure it is dead,) limber up, don’t be a hero and beware of bathrooms. The open sequence gives a demonstration of how many of these rules have come in handy for Columbus.
On his road to Ohio, he runs into Tallahassee (Woody Harrleson,) a gun-blazing, shear-wielding zombie-hater who is on the hunt for a Twinkie. While Columbus tries to avoid the zombies at all costs, Tallahassee seeks them out with a toolbox of weapons. The two make quite the odd couple, but since they are both heading East across the United States they pair up.
Along the route they meet two sisters who have also managed to survive the zombie outbreak. Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) are searching for a place that is free of zombies. They’ve come from the East and have heard rumors that there is a zombie-free place in California.
The characters make the movie just funny enough to make the gore worth watching for anyone who is a little squeamish.
Shaun of the Dead
“Zombieland” is reminiscent of the only other zombie comedy I’ve ever seen, 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead.” When “Shaun of the Dead” came out, it was clever and unexpected. Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, it turns a zombie outbreak into one more reason Shaun’s (Simon Pegg) life sucks. He has a crappy job, he hates his stepfather (Bill Nighy) and his girlfriend has just dumped him since all he ever wants to do is hang out at the same pub every night. Shaun is that typical guy whose life is so bad he wonders what more could go wrong, and as it turns out a heck of a lot more could go wrong. He awakes to a world that has been taken over by zombies.
Shaun, with his friend Ed (Nick Frost) in tow, decides it is up to him to save his ex Liz (Kate Ashfield) and his mother from the zombie plague. Of course, that involves trying to get them all to his favorite pub the Winchester, which he thinks will be a safe haven.
Though “Shaun of the Dead” still comes up on top for the zombie comedy genre, “Zombieland” is worth a watch.
