While it looks like just another zombie movie, a star-studded cast lead by Woody Harrelson is able to survive not only a zombie apocalypse, but the whole movie, Zombieland, as well.
Artwork by Anna Becker
Zombieland begins not in the city of Columbus, Ohio, but with a character named Columbus Ohio. In a world where practically everyone is undead and craving for human flesh, it seems as Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, Adventureland) is the only one who is not infected with this unnamed zombie virus (the virus spread through contaminated meat). However, Columbus is not a natural-born zombie killer, as he is somewhat clueless in a situation like this.
As Columbus states: before the zombie invasion, he lived a life alone and in solitude, drinking Mountain Dew and playing World of Warcraft in his college dorm. Before the zombie apocalypse, he also never had a real girlfriend, only spending time with a college dorm neighbor who is referred to as “406” (Amber Heard, Never Back Down). However, the morning after Columbus let her spend the night (she was scared when a homeless person became a zombie), 406 became zombiefied herself and chased Columbus throughout his dorm until he knocked her out.
As Columbus is walking along a deserted road a few mornings later, a truck that looks like it will withstand any zombie attack drives up. While Columbus is trying to hide and get a good aim with his rifle, a tough-looking guy in a cowboy hat steps out of the vehicle, also armed. Neither deciding to shoot, the guy introduces himself as Tallahassee (the main characters’ names are the cities they are headed to). Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, Seven Pounds) proves to be a tough, zombie-killing machine, who eventually decides to let Columbus hitch a ride with him. While I thought Woody Harrelson delivered an excellent performance as a tough “do not mess with me” type of guy, Jesse Eisenberg’s acting reminded me a lot of Michael Cera.
Hoping to arrive at a state where there are no zombies for miles, Columbus and Tallahassee decide to stop at a supermarket (Tallahassee is hungry but will only eat any Twinkie he finds, if any), which is inhabited by overweight zombies. After Tallahassee does some zombie killing (using unique objects including a banjo and large pliers), the guys meet Wichita (Emma Stone, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, My Sister’s Keeper), two sisters in need of help. Wichita convinces either Columbus or Tallahassee to shoot her younger sister, claiming it is too late to cure her zombie bite. When neither guy can do it, Wichita grabs Tallahassee’s rifle and is about to kill her sister when, to the guys’ surprise, she turns the gun on them. As they soon discover, Wichita and Little Rock are con artists, and they end up leaving Columbus and Tallahassee stranded with nothing. To their relief, Columbus and Tallahassee soon find a yellow Hummer loaded with weapons (but no Twinkie for Tallahassee), which they use to go after the sisters. I thought the supermarket scene was one of the funniest in the movie, as it was when Woody Harrelson proved to be a zombie killer. When an overweight zombie came running towards Columbus and Tallahassee, Tallahassee got out huge pliers and said, “I’m just gonna take a little off the top.”
Eventually finding Wichita and Little Rock, Columbus and Tallahassee get the gun turned on them…again. This time, the sisters want the guys to give them a ride so all four decide to travel together, for the time being. While traveling, Columbus develops a crush on Wichita and Tallahassee develops a fatherly shine to Little Rock.
They eventually reach Hollywood, hoping to get a rest. However, the zombie apocalypse is there too (one of the zombies resembles Charlie Chaplin). Tallahassee decides to show everyone where his favorite actor, Bill Murray, lives. While inside the mansion (that even has its own movie theater), they are approached by none other than Mr. Murray (Ghostbusters) himself, although he looks zombiefied too. However, Murray soon reveals he is wearing make-up, hoping to blend in with the other zombies.
Hoping to fulfill her promise of taking Little Rock to the amusement park, Pacific Playland, Wichita and Little Rock abandon Columbus and Tallahassee. When the sisters arrive at the amusement park, they cannot have much fun, as Pacific Playland turns out to be invaded with a whole army of zombies. Hoping to save the girl of his dreams, Columbus decides to go after Wichita and Little Rock. Tallahassee, originally planning on going to Mexico, decides he did make relationships after all and joins Columbus in this rescue mission. As for Tallahassee’s Twinkie, you will just have to see Zombieland to find out if he ever finds one.
While Zombieland has great acting by a small but star-studded cast, it is Woody Harrelson who steals the show. Although he does most of the zombie killing, most of it is done too quickly (although, he does have a great action sequence towards the end, killing the zombies at Pacific Playland). Harrelson also has most of the best lines including, “You ever read the book, She’s Just Not That Into You?” when Columbus decides he is in love with Wichita. Coming as a surprise, another good actor turned out to be Bill Murray, which is a bit shocking after seeing him in recent movies such as City of Ember, and Broken Flowers, where his acting was dry and pretty bad. In Zombieland, Murray’s acting was actually funny, especially when he, Tallahassee, and Wichita reenacted a Ghostbusters scene while the song, Ghostbusters, played in the background.
If expecting a lot of zombie action, Zombieland may not be the right movie for you, as the zombies only appear in a few scenes. Unlike other zombie movies (which seem to still be popular and a bit gory), Zombieland is actually quite good, especially when compared to these movies. If one likes horror-comedy movies, Zombieland might even work on a date night, as it has talented actors and actresses, a good story, and many funny lines. While newcomer director, Ruben Fleischer did a pretty good job, I recommend Zombieland (especially for high school students), because it happens to be one of those rare occasions where a famous cast is able to give good performances in a fun and silly horror movie.
Rating: ★★★★☆
