Any fans of Romero's 'Of The Deads' or Edgar Wrights 'Shaun' are in for a good time

Rating: 8/10 (22 July 2012)

As an audience member, to get the most out of Zombieland, there has to be a certain amount of surrendering to the material. Anyone familiar with George A Romero's 'Of The Deads', or Edgar Wrights 'Shaun' should breeze through all 88mins with a permanent smile. That said, i wouldn't go as far as to conclude that 'Z-Land' is purely for the schooled flesh- eating aficionados among us. Like it's UK counterpart, 'Shaun', this is top notch silliness played for laughs first, with gore and splatter for seconds. Like the zombies, the jokes come thick and fast. Eisenberg and Harrelson make an unlikely, but highly likable screen duo while Emma Stone adds a dry, sexy charm. If there's a weak link amongst all this fun, it's Abigail Breslin's 'tougher than the guys' 12yr old character who serves as nothing more than filler and soon becomes irritating. The writing by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick is razor sharp and although the zombie film is a worn formula, there's enough clever ideas and humour injected into recognising the personality clashes within our central group of characters to make Zombieland feel like a fresh take on the genre. It goes without saying, but probably shouldn't that the make-up and special effects are also a joy to behold and the tight running time assures that the film seldom sags. One last nod must go to a very special cameo. For anyone who hasn't seen the film, i won't spoil it here, but it's a treat and yet another fun ingredient to add to what is a joyous, efficient and likable film watching experience which while not quite measuring up to Edgar Wright's similarly themed zom-com effort, comes a very, very close second best. And that's saying something. 3.5/5