Film Review: Zombieland
Sometimes a film needs to be judged purely on entertainment value, and Zombieland has that in buckets. Mixing laughs with jumps, the film follows a mismatched group trying to survive the Zombie onslaught, caused by a mutated strain of mad cow disease. Starring Jesse Eisenberg (from the criminally underrated Adventureland and The Squid and the Whale), Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers, 2012), Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine and perhaps the least annoying child actor of her generation) the film has a pleasing mix of commercial and indie actors.
The film introduces the main characters and gives us their back-stories, glimpsing how and why they survived and not others. Columbus (Eisenberg) is a nerdy college student who has developed a list of rules allowing him to dodge becoming Zombie munchies. He meets Tallahassee (Harrelson) who seems to enjoy killing Zombies a little too much. The odd couple of hard man and neurotic geek meet grifter sisters, Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin), and the quartet is complete.
Riding the wave of ZomCom with a nice combination of a well-realised, post-apocalyptic world and fast-paced editing, Zombieland knows how to keep its audience’s attention. Director, Ruben Fleischer, does a great job at the helm of a pretty big project, helped by a clever script and experienced cast, the final product is much more accomplished than you might expect from someone’s first feature directing gig.
Giving its audience a lot of laughs, the humour has been carefully orchestrated to cover both slapstick and verbal comedy, something for everyone. The same with the violence which is both overtly comically exaggerated but occasionally shocking. Zombieland is anything but subtle, with increasingly inventive Zombie slaying scenarios and settings. This is a Zombie film without any of the underlying messages about society or civilisation usually found in this genre. Although it doesn’t take the mantle of best ZomCom (that title stays with reigning champions Shaun of the Dead), Zombieland is a fun film and definitely not a bad way to spend an evening, especially after a boring day at work.
To get into the Zombie mood, here are some of Trespass’ favourite Zombie related videos:
Bush wages War on Zombies:
Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, two of the men behind the Zombie revision Shaun of the Dead, give a lesson in survival:
Zombieland is released nationally in Australia on the 3rd December
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
