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Visual:		9.0
Audio:		8.0
Acting:		8.0
Writing:		9.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Ruben Fleischer
Writer(s):	Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Starring:	Jesse Eisenberg • Woody Harrelson • Emma Stone • Abigail Breslin
Genre:	Comedy • Horror
Website:	http://www.zombieland.com/
Release Date:	October 02, 2009
Rated:

Zombie-film fans like to make bold arguments for the genre’s brilliant metaphors about humanity and the faults of the species. You can argue with these people until you’re blue in the face, or you can both agree that zombie films are great because you can watch as people blow holes in other ex-people with shotguns and cheer without fear of judgment from your peers. You can’t cheer on a gunman in a film without your friends wondering if you’ll climb up into a clock tower with a rifle. But not with zombie films. With Zombieland you can embrace that bloodlust and bask in the awesomeness of a character taking a baseball bat to a deceased butcher’s head as the monstrous horde charges towards them and takes down an innocent bystander and quickly begins the sumptuous feast of brains all in a heartbeat – assuming they didn’t already eat the heart. But I digress. Unlike the zombie horde.

Zombieland’s breakout occurs when Mad Cow disease mutates into Mad Human disease and well, zombification quickly follows. Zombie purists should note the film has the same non-dead issue as Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, but they make it work. Besides, it’s not about the zombies, it’s about the ragtag group of survivors as they live their lives amidst the wreckage of the once thriving society.

We’re introduced to the post-apocalyptic world via the rules of a young man who we know only as Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg). Rule number one? Cardio. Each rule gets its own little comical introduction and leads into Columbus’ first encounter with the zombie-kind when his apartment crush from a few doors down begs for his help only to turn on him. From there his quest begins and he sets off across the country to find his parents in Columbus, optimistic that they’ve survived. Before long he’s met by Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) a man who delights in the slaying of the zombified in his single-minded goal to find a golden, cream-filled Hostess treat. The two form an uneasy partnership and all seems to go well until they cross paths with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) on their way to an amusement park in California.

The funny starts right from the get-go and only ever lapses in moments when it attempts character progression, namely in attempting to further the romantic relationship between Columbus and Wichita. Beyond that the film is a laugh riot. With a cunning use of Columbus’ established rules popping up in 3D rendered text throughout the film, it plays with all the familiar zombie-tropes, points out their foibles and then makes them fun again.

The performances in the film make it such an easy one to watch with Harrelson giving a comedic delivery which, while not ultimately as terrific as the one he gave in Kingpin, proves that he’s only getting better with each successive film. His search for Twinkies, love of brutality and reverence for a particular celebrity is all spot on for a cult comedy such as this. Jesse Eisenberg reeks of Michael Cera intonations in the first 20 minutes, but gradually he makes the role his own and almost manages to become an equal to Harrelson and Stone. Considering the last few films of Abigail Breslin include My Sister’s Keeper, Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl, Nim’s Island and Definitely, Maybe, her appearance in Zombieland marks an enormous change for her career. This may be the one film she’s done since Little Miss Sunshine that really just shouldn’t be shown to anyone under 13 – and it’s clear how much she’s grown since then.

Great performances, zombie slaying and funny as hell – what more could you want from a ZomCom? If Zombieland proves anything, it’s that a movie like Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead needs to come along every 5 years to cleanse the palate of horror fans.

Go see it.