Who knew the zombie-filled apocalypse would be this much fun? Mixing comedy, horror, road movie and coming-of-age story, Zombieland manages to be gross, hilarious and — dare I say it — heartwarming.
As the film begins, a plague has turned most people into flesh-eating monsters. They're not undead, which means they can be killed. The timid yet resourceful Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) keeps a running list for surviving zombie encounters, which fuels much of the movie's visually inventive humor.
When Columbus pairs up with self-styled badass Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) to take on the rabid mob, the two make an unlikely but formidable team. The same can't be said after they cross paths with Wichita (Superbad's sultry Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin), sisters whose code is to trust no one but each other and who outwit the boys twice before they all make nice, pile into a car and head for a California amusement park. Throughout, Zombieland revels in the pleasures of pop references, a theme most fully realized when the group arrives at the mansion of a major Hollywood star, where they bond over fine wine, indoor target practice and Tallahassee's admiration for an actor whose cameo is one of the film's highlights.
When the foursome finally make it to their destination, Columbus has to play the hero while Tallahassee proceeds to administer a beatdown of giddy proportions. The violence works as cathartic counterpoint to the characters' self-imposed isolation, and if that sounds like over-analysis, suffice it to say that the sight of Woody Harrelson riding a rollercoaster and blowing zombies to bits is awfully cool all by itself.
Recommended. Opening Friday October 2 at area theaters.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2009.