Zombieland

Piggybacking off of yesterday’s post, there’s something fascinating about a zombie. The flesh-eating, unstoppable undead provide a medium to laugh at, pity, and fear. When I became aware of the Zombieland movie, it was one that I knew I’d have to see.

The film is typical of any other zombie film: plague turns people into zombies and leave only a small remnant of survivors, all trying to cope with the affects of Zombie Apocalypse. The characters—the college loner Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), the Twinkie seeking zombie slayer Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), and the Pacific Playland Bound Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin)—are all fun to watch interact with each other, and their onscreen chemistry is easily noticeable.

Much of the movie is simple and straightforward. It is narrated by Columbus, who has a set of rules he’s gone by to stay alive. When Columbus meets Tallahassee, the real sparks begin to fly, and Harrelson steals nearly every scene. I found myself rolling many times at some of the jokes that were said.

While Zombieland deals with scary elements, the film is mostly light-hearted and funny. However, there were a few times when I jumped from suspense, which made the film even more enjoyable. The characters’ backgrounds are revealed through dialogue and flashbacks, and these are really the parts of the film that are sobering. By adding in a taste of humanity, the film invokes pity and sorrow for the characters, which can work as a good or bad thing for the movie.

This is not a film I would recommend for children, nor for people that want to avoid swearing and gore. (In yesterday’s post I mentioned how I don’t like gore, but for some reason zombie gore doesn’t seem to bother me one bit.) Zombie blood and zombie sick was a-plenty, and if you like the thrill of hewing down a zombie, you’ll like this movie.

Overall, the movie was really fun to watch and experience. A famous celebrity made a cameo that was hysterical, and most of the banter between characters was hilarious. If you’re looking for a stiff-hearted, post-apocalyptic zombie film, filled with intense and scary moments, then this is not the movie for you. If, on the other hand, you’d rather laugh with (and at) the undead, then I heartily recommend it. Like the words of Columbus’ Rule #32: “Enjoy the little things,” and enjoy the movie.