ZOMBIELAND review by Gary Dean Murray

The zombie film has taken a very universal turn in the last few years. I'm not referring to some worldwide acceptance, but the track that the studio took decades ago. In the 1930's Universal became a major player at the box office with a pair of 1930's hits Dracula and Frankenstein. But by the 1940's these fright figures were changed into comic fodder by Abbott and Costello. The "zombie" film has followed a similar path. In a scant few years, these undead roamers went from a force to be feared to a punchline for comic filmmakers. While we get quality imaginative films like 28 Days Later we also get Shaun of the Dead and Zombie Strippers. The latest nail in the fearful zombie flick is hammered by the wonderfully hilarious film Zombieland.

The film opens in Garland Texas with a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) gassing up his car. It seems that he is the last survivor of a zombie plague. In order to exist in this post-apocalyptic world, he has invented rules. For example, Rule #1 is "CARDIO", you have to be able to outrun your undead opponent. All in all he has over thirty rules to live by, and follows them to the letter.

All too soon he meets up with another survivor (Woody Harrelson). Instantly, the other guy refuses to exchange names, not wanting to become attached to another human and says that they should just know each other by where they are headed. Thus Jesse becomes "Columbus" and Woody is "Tallahassee". The two agree to ride together in Tallahassee's tricked out Cadillac Escalade, complete with a bull dozer front guard. As they drive along, the duo has to stop at grocery stores because Tallahassee is looking for Twinkies, that sponge cake snack purported to have an eternal shelf life. Inside one building, they come across two survivors who are christened Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They are also trying to find others and have heard rumors that there may be some real people in Southern California.

Soon the fortunes of the two groups turn and they go their separate ways, only to be reunited a blink later. So the foursome finally decide to work together to find survivors. As soon as you can say cliché, they take on the oldest idea in cinema - a road trip.

There is a cameo in the film that I will not give away, but it becomes a bit of ironic mayhem that delivers a macabre death blow, going from the funny bone to the sternum. One sees the big joke coming about a mile away, but it still renders a side-splitting laugh.



This is a role tailor made for Woody Harrelson. There are just moments where he can chew on scenes and never has to share the celluloid feast with another on the screen. He is our over-the-top player in this little drama and he goes full-throttle in killing zombies. If you like your performers to be rough and tumble, yielding a shotgun with the same acumen as they yield punchlines, then this character is for you.

Jesse Eisenberg is stuck being the bit of sanity in this insane place, trying to keep his cool as he keeps his life going. With his deadpan delivery, he makes the crazy world around him stay in context. There is no problem with him following his rules, and the concept of double tapping the zombies gets a huge response every time he does it. He does get to pull the trigger on the biggest laugh of the piece - a telegraphed joke that still works.

Emma Stone gets a few moments to shine in what is usually the most underwritten role. She is our hope of the film, the reason to try and keep civilization running. Little Abigail Breslin plays a kid but a con artist as well. She keeps her childlike aspects of the performance in the forefront but steps up when it calls for more mature aspects of the character.

Some of the filmmaking details are just rich. We get rules that pop up on the screen in CGI glory, appearing on the sides of cars and falling down with ammo blasts. The creatures aren't the super fast runners from 28 Days Later but more along the slowpoke straddlers of Night of the Living Dead. When making a comedy, you don't want your prey outrunning you.

I absolutely loved this film and it is one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had at the movies this year. At the moment, Zombieland is on my top ten for 2009. I cannot wait to see it again and will definitely pick up the DVD when it becomes available for purchase.

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