Hilariously gruesome, gruesomely hilarious

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2018)

Nebbish survivalist Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), temperamental cracker Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), and a couple of grifter sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) are on a post-apocalyptic road trip, trying to find a mythical place that is free of oozy and ravenous undead. Along the way they encounter numerous vivacious corpses, most of whom are messily dispatched by a variety of weapons ranging from machineguns to garden weasels. The film is both entertaining and educational, as Columbus expounds on his hard-learned rules of survival in the titular dystopia. The broad yet witty script is excellent with lots of clever lines and great sight gags, and the cast seem to be having a lot of infectious fun. Funny snuff (but definitely not for the squeamish) and a great counterpoint to the po-faced seriousness of "The Walking Dead" (2010) and its ilk.