"Zombieland" survival guide rule #1: Love this movie!

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2010)

Ruben Fleischer's "Zombieland" is one of the best horror-comedies ever made. The horror genre has some real shockers that will no doubt have you cringing with fright in one moment, and then laughing out loud the next - George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) (my favorite zombie movie of all time, and my favorite horror movie of all time), "An American Werewolf in London" (1981), "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985), "Evil Dead II" (1987), "Tremors" (1990), "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), and last year's "Drag Me to Hell." It comes close to rivaling "Shaun of the Dead," Britain's comedic take on the worldwide zombie pandemic. Now on our home soil, we now have "Zombieland."
Of course after a worldwide zombie pandemic, one of the last few human survivors is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a nerdy college student whose only real reason for survival is that he's scared of everything, and has an almost endless list of rules for survival; they've done him good so far, but he needs to loosen up a bit and "enjoy the little things in life." He soon meets the gun-toting, Twinkie-loving Tallahassee (a scene-stealing Woody Harrelson), who makes killing zombies look easy, cool,and fun. In their travels across the country, they also meet the traveling pair of sisterly survivalists/con artists Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and hope to head for a rumored zombie-free getaway somewhere on the West Coast. (Note that none of the characters in this film have real names, just the names of the places that they supposedly hail from/or are going to.)
"Zombieland" is literally fun from the very start. What gets the movie working from its first moments (aside from the hilarious slow-motion opening credits sequence) are the knowing wink-winks aimed directly at the audience that promise you that you're about to watch something very special. And special this movie is, indeed. The movie is pure fan service to the literally dozens of zombie movies and the nihilistic zombie comic books/novels (think author Max Brooks's titanic "World War Z," which is required reading for any zombie movie fan) past and present that all seem to reference each other. In that regard, it's really nothing special but damn it, it's pure fun from beginning to end. "Zombieland," like "Shaun of the Dead," references them all with a knowing wink-wink and a big, goofy smile.
(Another aspect of the film that I thought was ingenious is that the zombies themselves are quite formidable. In keeping up with the recent trends in zombie-themed horror flicks - which I believe originated in "The Return of the Living Dead" - these zombies can run and climb over obstacles in order to munch on human flesh. And true to most zombie movies past and present, there are some impressive special effects zombie kills and the zombies themselves often become objects of some of the film's best laughs. It should also be noted that the zombies themselves also have very little screen time whe compared to the four main leads, and don't really become a major element of the picture until the last 20 minutes. Lastly, how do these characters get away with dropping so many "Z"-bombs? Don't they know that you never say the word "zombie" in a zombie movie?)
Like "Shaun of the Dead," I had a lot of fun watching "Zombieland." As a fan of zombie movies, I'm not quite sure how I missed this movie in the theaters. But I can say that the wait for the DVD was well worth it, especially Best Buy's exclusive "Nut Up or Shut Up Edition." It is clear that the cast and filmmakers had a ball making this movie, the most obvious of which is Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee. As a zombie-killing redneck with a sweet spot for Twinkies, he really takes his role to heart with one-liner after one-liner and a knowing wink-wink that he's got this part in the bag.
If there are any downsides to the experience, it's that the movie is way too short at just a mere 88 minutes, which actually kind of surprised me when I learned that no extended version of the movie - presumably with more character development and gore - is available. But I guess that's only a minor grievance for a movie that does everything that it promises to do, does them right, and then some.
"Zombieland" is an impressive new feature about the soon-to-be worldwide zombie pandemic. I can only hope that the (proposed) sequel set for release some time in 2011 is as good as this one.
10/10
P.S.: In a movie that never ceases to surprise you with the laughs, watch out for a hilarious cameo by comedic actor Bill Murray about halfway through.