Zombieland (Review)

I don't really care much for horror movies...at all. Believe it or not, Zombieland was my first exposure to genre, even though it's more of a comedy movie with some horror in it than the other way around. The movie takes place in a world overrun with zombies and follows a geeky kid named Columbus (or dubbed so, everybody in the film is referred to by their hometown name so that they don't get too close or friendly) who survived the zombie apocalypse because of his strict set of rules like "double tap" and "check the backseat". He encounters a badass hunter referred to as Tallahassee and he agrees to give Columbus a ride so that he can locate his estranged family, while all Tallahassee wants now is a twinkie as a reminder of the good old days. Along the way, these two meet up with a pair of sisters, who continually screw them over them. The group of slowly learn to trust each other and sets out for place where few zombies inhabit.

I may have never seen a zombie film before, but pop culture has keep me well versed in their routines. Zombieland gets some points off the bat for not being about the outbreak and start of the zombie attack, but instead being about a few people trying to survive in a world already ravaged by them. Also out of the norm here is that blood and violent (human) deaths are kept to minimal (as opposed to most movies in the genre these days where that seems to be the sole point). As a result, the characters are fairly likable as they are actually given some time to develop somewhat since their purpose is not to die. Most of the humor comes from the main characters behavior during their various zombie encounters and the script goes the smart path by giving them enough background to make them more relateable than most horror movie heroes but they're still basically stereotypes more than fully formed characters and it's the skill of the actors playing them that make the characters work other than the script.

Jesse Eisenberg does a great job here as Columbus taking the lead as a lovable loser. I've never actually seen a movie with Woody Harrelson in it, but he seemed to be born to play a badass zombie killer and hr clearly enjoyed his role, while Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin manage to be likable despite their pigheaded actions for most of the film. Also of note is a celebrity cameo during the movie's more comedic (and uneventful) second act which was without a doubt the best part of the movie. The movie concludes with an action oriented third act at an amusement park that was a hell of alot more engaging than I would have assumed. The film doesn't have a proper conclusion per-say as it was initially intended to be a television series, but I think I would enjoy seeing a sequel or Tv show that continued the adventures these four survivors.