Zombieland: 2009

When wishing for popularity, be sure to specify your target audience.

Zombies.

Definition: undead beings that arise by some bewitching biological mechanism and, in happenstance, brainlessly romp around with the sole purpose of devouring the living [humans]. Circa 2009 A.D., common modern usages include video games, pop culture references, witty t-shirts, and comedic addendum.

“Zombieland” exploits the undead for all their comedic worth. It’s doubtful anyone will cry political correctness because let’s face it – zombies are fun. Their existence rests solely devouring brains* and wandering aimlessly, dropped jaws drooling lamely like real-life imitations of Picasso. They are disgusting, disheveled, disembodied, dysenteric – prime targets for good old fashioned head bludgeoning, gold clubbing, saw slashing, double-tapping head shots.

The film is horrifically entertaining, splattered intestines decorating the screen like christmas lights in December. The gawky narrator Columbus (Jesse Einsenberg) vouches by a set of nonsensical rules that could easily be compiled into a book called “How to Survive a Zombie Society for Neurotics.” He meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) who is hell bent on finding Twinkies. Columbus and Tallahassee team up, and after some traveling meet up with the two sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) on their way to Pacific Playland in California.

Why anyone with common sense would venture to an amusement park and activate it in a zombie-infested society is beyond me; but hell if you’re going to kill zombies, you might as well kill them in a carnival. What better way to compliment blood splatter and shotgun pops than with a backdrop of roller coasters, shiny rainbow lights and candy?

But I digress with such rhetorical questions. “Zombieland” is a glorious celebration of gore-riffic comedy, displaying great directing skill by Ruben Fleischer and wit by screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. Graphical annotations are clever and well-timed for irony; the acting team of Einsenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin make for a terrific and solid ensemble; and the special effects team go far and beyond to make bloody good use of their ingenuity and create one of the best cameos in recent movies.

Far from perfect though, the movie lacks in characterization. In lieu of their talent and skill, the actors are given little to work with and are simply caricatures, token individuals with set quirks expressed and explored skin-deep. Some may draw comparisons to “Shaun of the Dead,” though personally I find Simon Pegg’s 2004 zombie-comedy distinctly different and better laid out in story and characterization; regardless, “Zombieland” is a zombie movie, fluff and guts and all, and the most fun is seeing plenty of good ol’ fashioned zombie killing, shoot ‘em in the head jamboree. It’s a popcorn movie, a fun ride with an invariably plot-holed filled story and characters we laugh with along the way. Zombie fans will be pleased by this original take on the undead, and everyone gets to enjoy nice sets of bloody fireworks splashing the screen.

*Question: would the last living flesh-being devoured, would there be a mass-zombie suicide that resulted in the reintroduction of the living, or possibly even a new species of the un-living?

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