Funny-scary

Rating: 7/10 (29 August 2010)

Horror movie spoofs are becoming pretty common—some of them are great ("Scream"), while others are just forgettable. The really good ones manage to both spoof the genre and simultaneously exploit its effectiveness. "Zombieland" does just that. The main character has developed a list of rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse, which we can easily assume he has developed from watching lots and lots of zombie movies. These rules flash on the screen at strategic moments, and we come to appreciate their wisdom. The plot, although clever and amusing, is subordinate to the characters here—Jesse Eisenberg as our hero (who suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a definite handicap when one is fighting zombies), Woody Harrelson as the bad-ass who's hiding deep sorrow, Abigail Breslin (yes, the girl from "Little Miss Sunshine") as a rough tween who fears nothing, and Bill Murray in a hysterical but all-too-brief cameo. This one is good scary fun.