Zombieland - DVD Review

Hailed as “the best zom-com since Shaun of the Dead”, Ruben Fleisher’s debut combines stomach-churning gore with plenty of laughs to create one of the best comedies of 2009.

In a world overrun by zombies, scaredy-cat Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) survives by following a strict set of rules – “Cardio” (rule #1), “Double tap” (rule #4) and “Check the back seat” (rule #31) to name a few. Travelling home to discover the fate of his parents, he encounters the slightly unhinged Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a self-entitled “ass kicker”, and a couple of con-artist sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin); together, the foursome rediscover what it means to be part of a family, and team up to claim back their world from the undead. It’s like a roadtrip-come-family-bonding movie, but with zombies.

Zombieland throws us straight into the action, dispensing with the apocalypse in a flurry of blood, bullets and flying bras. The pace never lets up, and we find ourselves caught up in the excitement as our heroes do battle, bicker amongst themselves and search for that ever-elusive Twinkie. The tone throughout is spot on: Eisenberg’s dry, witty voiceover (complete with totally random digressions) is hilarious, while the film is full of brilliant quirks – for example, Columbus’ all important rules pop up on screen comic-book-style each time he follows one (providing an indispensible how-to guide should we ever find ourselves in the same situation) - which give it an originality that other zombie films are missing.

And I haven’t even mentioned the bit where they visit the Beverly Hills home of a very famous actor – probably the best cameo EVER – or the thrilling climax on and around the rides of an abandoned amusement park. An all-round crowd-pleaser, it will have you laughing from start to finish: the end of humanity has never been so much fun.

Not quite as good as Shaun of the Dead, but still an incredibly fun ride.

CMD