A solid zom-com

Rating: 8/10 (9 December 2018)

The Zombie Apocalypse has struck and a nerdy college student in Texas just wants to get home to Columbus, Ohio to see if his family survived. He soon meets up with a fellow survivor who firmly states 'no names' so they refer to each other by their home towns; Columbus and Tallahassee. They haven't been together to long when they meet sisters, 'Wichita' and 'Little Rock'... who relieve them of their transport and weapons! However they are soon reunited and end up heading to California together; constantly on the lookout for zombies.
Horror comedy is a difficult balance to get right but I think this film pulls it off nicely. There are both gory moments and solid laughs right from the start as Columbus explains his main rules for survival; these flash up on the screen whenever they are applied. Once the situation and rules are explained the characters are introduced in a way that provides more laughs. The cast are solid; Jesse Eisenberg as the slightly nerdy Columbus; Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee and Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as the sisters who were grifting before the zombies took over. As well as individual funny scenes there is a good running joke about Tallahassee's search for a Twinkie bar and a great surprise cameo. If there is a weakness it is that we go quite a while between zombie encounters in the middle section of the film... at least there are plenty for the finale. Of course there are plot holes but if they'd just stocked up on food and driven to the middle of nowhere rather than heading to a major population centre it would have been a pretty boring film! Overall I'd recommend this for fans of zombie comedy; it may not be as funny as 'Shaun of the Dead' or as gory as 'Dead Snow' but it is still well worth watching.