Zombieland
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard

I’m not sure what it is about rotting corpses coming back to life and feasting on human flesh that has managed to strike a chord with so many people over the years, but make no mistake: the word “zombie” is now a brand name, ready to be slapped onto any product and sold to a fanbase with an insatiable appetite for the undead. Maybe it is just that people can relate to the concept of mindless drones shuffling aimlessly through their sad lives, or viral infection in a savage, unforgiving world where only the strong survive. Then there’s the more likely explanation for the appeal, which is the fact that zombies are generally slow-moving and dumb, making them easy targets for decapitation and death from a variety of weapons.

Either way, at this point, a new zombie movie is pretty much guaranteed to attract a very dedicated, albeit relatively small, cult following. But could zombies ever truly go mainstream? Director Ruben Fleischer’s very first feature film, Zombieland, has taken perhaps the best stab at creating a mass market zombie outbreak to date. With a strong comedic slant, some big name stars, and a slick sense of style, it’s more escapist fantasy than terrifying dystopia, and it’s easily the funniest zombie flick since Shaun of the Dead.

Jesse Eisenberg plays a shy, awkward college student who has managed to survive the zombie plague on his own thus far through strict adherence to a set of personal rules (perhaps partially inspired by Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide). Early on, these rules are explained through some very tongue-in-cheek narration with on-screen captions, setting up a wacky, self-referential tone that continues throughout the film. Soon he meets up with Woody Harrelson’s character, a no-nonsense redneck from Florida who is cutting a bloody swath across the United States in search of a Twinkie. Rather than reveal their real names to each other, they simply refer to each other by their hometowns: Columbus (Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Harrelson). Along the way, they meet up with two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) who have trust issues, but they’ll all have to learn to work together if they want to live to see another day.

The movie never really explains much about the origins of the zombies except to say that it was a human plague that evolved from mad cow disease. In fact, it doesn’t ever concern itself with the big picture at all, and simply focuses on these four characters and their road trip, with occasional flashbacks to their previous lives. Considering that the movie is primarily a comedy that plays on the familiarity of the genre’s conventions, this approach works fairly well.

Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg make for a great comedic team, with the vast majority of the film’s laughs resulting from their chemistry. Eisenberg is sure to draw even more Michael Cera comparisons with his nervous, neurotic demeanor, but I think he is able to sell the budding romance better than Cera could. Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) are decent as well, but I think a lot of credit must go to the script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, whose biggest shared credit to date is the brilliant reality series The Joe Schmo Show.

The movie has some great dialogue and snappy one-liners, and while it’s peppered with some pop culture references here and there, it’s not overly indulgent in that department. It’s also impossible not to mention one particularly great cameo in the film, but since most people have managed to keep it a secret thus far, I won’t spoil it here either. All I will say is that it’s a make or break moment that could have gone horribly awry with the wrong actor or the wrong tone, but it was an absolute slam dunk for me.

In a lot of ways it’s hard to believe that this is Ruben Fleischer’s first movie. He maintains a solid sense of style without being overly flashy. He has some fun with extreme slow-mo, and dreams up a number of creative kills and some slick action sequences while also tipping his hat to westerns as well. There are also some inspired musical choices including an opening credit sequence set to Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls”.

Zombieland is not completely flawless, but most of its flaws are pretty easy to forgive. One of the minor issues is that there is very little in the way of plot to drive things forward, leading to the need for a final climax to be manufactured out of stupid, illogical decisions. There also isn’t all that much in the way of actual horror; although it does have a few jump scares and some suspenseful moments, it’s not quite as balanced as Shaun of the Dead.

For most people, the success of Zombieland will depend entirely on how much they laugh. I wouldn’t call this the funniest movie of the year, but it’s certainly more hit than miss, where even the misses are still tolerable. Overall, it’s a thoroughly entertaining ride that manages to offer a fresh take on a genre that has been getting pretty stale and overcrowded — and that’s saying something. Zombieland is a crowd pleaser that deserves all the praise it has been getting, and one that reaches far beyond the realm of hardcore horror fanatics. — Sean

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