A huge breath of fresh air among otherwise stale Hollywood horror

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2010)

After a plague ravages the human population (stemming from a contaminated gas station burger), a small band of survivors group together (somewhat unwillingly) and travel the country on their way to a California amusement park. Fun & terror meets them on their path.
Ah, zom-coms. . . one of my favourite sub-subgenres of horror. From Dead-Alive to Shaun of the Dead, zombie-comedies tend to be the best of the horror-comedy lot. Unfortunately, after films like Shaun of the Dead, every Joe Director with a few thousand bucks has tried to replicate the success and make their own Shaun clone (same happens after just about every new popular flick (see Evil Dead as a huge example)). Many thought Zombieland would hold the same fate: A replica of Shaun that simply cannot compare. And, while it doesn't hold the same prestige as the Simon Pegg classic, Zombieland is still a truly fantastic entry in the zom-com genre.
Starting with the cast, it was a damn fine set up of talented stars. Woody Harrelson perfectly captures the insane, grizzled hero of the bunch. Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland), as he tends to be in his roles, works as the awkward kid with a crush. Emma Stone (Superbad) is sweet & cute in her own wicked little way. And then there's the sweet Abigail Breslin who really never fails and still maintains her place as one of the few tolerable child stars left out there. On other technical levels, the writing was very good. The dialogue is often hilarious, especially in the times of character spats. The story never gets too complicated and stays very interesting throughout. Director Ruben Fleischer, who makes (pretty much) his directorial debut here, really captures the action of the zombie-killing lifestyle well and manages to wrangle the movie into something both simple and expansive. Very well done on all accounts.
There are certain elements that zom-coms really should have and Zombieland has them in spades. The gore is fantastic, brutal, and sometimes over-the-top. It had my girlfriend cringing and covering her eyes numerous times. The opening sequences with the often-hilarious, often-disgusting gore scenes in slow motion was absolutely brilliant (I personally liked the firemen the most). Just about all the zombie violence was simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny and recoil-in-revulsion gross. There are a few scares (most notably the bathroom scene(s)), but most of the film focuses on gore, fun, comedy, and action with a little bit of romance tossed in for good measure.
One of the absolute best parts of the film, hands down, involves the outstanding cameo that I won't reveal here. For those who haven't seen it, I truly hope you don't seek out finding out about the cameo as the surprise definitely made it all the better. It was absolutely hilarious and had me rolling in laughter, something not too common with me.
Overall, Zombieland was a huge breath of fresh air in the otherwise stale sector of Hollywood horror. With remakes and sequels galore, Zombieland should not be missed.
Final Verdict: 8.5/10.
-AP3-