Zombieland Review

Earlier this week I went to see Zombieland at the cinema. Ever since I saw the trailer months ago I've been looking forward to watching this and  I was not disappointed. The film starred Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus, who narrates the film, Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Emma Stone as Wichita and Abigail Breslin as Little Rock. We never get to learn the true names of any of the four leads, only their nicknames, based on where they are headed or come from. Ruben Fleischer directed the film, which has a running time of 88 minutes. Although it has a rather short running time it was jam-packed with humour and action.

THE PLOT. In a world overrun by flesh eating zombies, Columbus is an unlikely survivor. He is a teenage geek with phobias and neuroses aplenty. But like your average reader of my blog, he knows zombies and how to survive, thanks to a list of rules he makes. For example, Rule One: Cardio. Be fit for the zombies are fast paced and they caught and ate all the fat people first. That's me screwed then! He teams up with a drifter called Tallahassee, who is as hard as nails - quote "my mother always said I'd be good at something; I just never thought it'd be killing zombies!" They form an unlikely partnership being as different as chalk and cheese. They lose their car to two expert con artists, Wichita and her younger sister Little Rock. However, it isn't long before they meet up again and this time a truce is called as they head west to Los Angeles. Little Rock wanted to go there to visit the Pleasureland amusement park. Whilst in Los Angeles, they spend time at the mansion of Bill Murray before the two girls depart for the amusement park. It is deserted when they get there but by turning on the electricity to power the rides they unwittingly attract every zombie within hearing distance. Columbus and Tallahassee almost split up but decide they worked well as a team and so set off to catch up with the girls. And how fortunate they did as the film ends with a huge pitched battle between the four survivors and hordes of zombies.

From left to right - Wichita, Tallahassee, Columbus and Little Rock.

THE REVIEW. This is very firmly a comedy, not a horror film. That said, there is enough blood spilled to satisfy the most ardent gore-hound - that'll be me then! This was a film that had me laughing out loud from start to finish. The secret of any good film, no matter what its genre, is to have characters you like and care about and this passes that test with flying colours. All four leads are perfectly cast. Also, Bill Murray gives one of the best cameo performances ever seen. The sheer inventiveness of some of the zombie kills is truly amazing. "Zombie kill of the week" is a quote that crops up in the film more than once and none can beat the old lady who drops a piano on top of a zombie! I'm chuckling now as I type this at the memory of that scene! I know that in any future game I play involving zombies I'll be looking for my own zombie kill of the week. I'm very pleased to see that the film has garnered very good reviews from the critics and that it is doing well at the box office. It thoroughly deserves its success. I read that Woody Harrelson said that this was the first film he's made where he'd be happy to do a sequel. The writers and director want to do not just a sequel but a whole series of sequels. I would most definitely want to see that happen! This was, hands down, the best film I've seen all year. I rate it 9 out of 10. As great as it is, I still think that Shaun of the Dead is ever so slightly better.