Woody Harrelson in Zombieland (MCT Campus)
by Adam Conder
It’s official: Zombieland has topped the box-office on the first week of release – not surprising, as people do love zombie films.
The basic plot is a simple one: the standard outbreak, followed by the handful of survivors. What separates Zombieland from its competitors, though, is its creativity. This is accomplished by the actors and the overall silly script.
The cast is star-studded, including Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) as the young, nervous protagonist Colombia, who fills Zombieland with bits of humor through his narration of the rules necessary to survival:
“Don’t be afraid to use your ammunition, double tap,” he says in reference to shooting zombies more than once.
Woody Harrelson (Defendor) plays a zombie-killing, badass hick called Tallahassee, who’s on a mission to get a Twinkie. This mixed with his feeling of worthlessness, due to a loss early in the movie, makes a fascinating character. It’s always a pleasure to see Harrelson in an ultraviolent role, because he’s so believable.
Abigail Breslin (My Sister’s Keeper) and Emma Stone (Paper Man) play two sisters main goal is to get to an amusement park on the West Coast, con artists who rip off the Colombia and Tallahassee, but realize that if they want to survive, they’ll have to stick together.
Zombieland is more a parody than a horror film. It is doubtful that a serious zombie film would have a clip dedicated to the “zombie kill of the week”. But while Zombieland is in the tradition of Shaun of the Dead, it just isn’t as good.
Zombieland is an entertaining movie overall, with chunks of comedy and horror thrown in. The story is clichéd, but that is to be expected of a zombie film and can add to the charm. Zombieland is a fun flick, but don’t expect it be a cult classic. It isn’t that good.
