Film of the Week: Zombieland (15)

Damon Smith • Published 19 Oct 2009 09:00 0 Comments

IT'S one of the burning questions of the modern age: in the event of zombie holocaust, how can the human survivors protect themselves from becoming a walking buffet for the undead?

Ruben Fleischer's gore-laden comedy proffers a few handy tips to stay one step ahead of the deadly carnivores.

Striking an irreverent tone that echoes Shaun Of The Dead, Zombieland is a bloody, and bloody hilarious, jaunt through a futuristic America ravaged by a contagion that has metamorphosed all but the lucky few into flesh-chomping predators.

The rules for survival are explained in the film's tongue-in-cheek opening section - including maintaining cardio fitness, always shooting zombies twice in the head, and checking the back seat of your car for unexpected, teeth-gnashing passengers.

Recluse Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has managed to survive thanks to his fear of anything that goes bump in the night - and he's also terrified by clowns.

"It would be nice to see a familiar face - or any face that doesn't have blood dripping from its lips and flesh between its teeth," the coulrophobe muses as he makes his way back home to see his family.

En route, Columbus encounters gun-toting hardman Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who takes delight in killing zombies with any implement that comes to hand.

They join forces with two young survivors, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who are heading for the supposed sanctuary of an amusement park from their childhood.

Zombieland is a blast, mining laughs from the survivors' reaction to their predicament.

Columbus's offer to help a sexy neighbour (Amber Heard) in her hour of need leads to stomach-churning carnage.

"The first time I let a girl into my life, and she tries to eat me!" he sighs.

The final showdown at the amusement park makes the most of the location and its various rides.

Scenes of zombies tucking into the innards of fallen prey are complemented by slaughter at the hands of the survivors, who take a baseball bat, a shotgun and even a sink to the heads of the marauding undead.

Splatter and entrails drip off the camera lens at regular intervals.

Eisenberg's droll scaredy-cat is a great comic foil for Harrelson's goofball avenger, who is so moved at one point, he confides: "I haven't cried like that since Titanic."

Stone and Breslin pull their weight too, shooting a fair few zombies as they search for safe haven.

Bill Murray's cameo as himself brings the house down, leading Little Rock to ask who he is.

"I've never hit a kid before," replies Tallahassee in disgust. "That's like asking, 'Who's Gandhi?'."

Needless to say, Little Rock doesn't know him either. Murray is in exalted company.

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 15 Oct 09

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