Review: Zombieland

When a zombie outbreak decimates the American population an unlikely group of survivors work together to brave the zombie plagued highways of the United States. Hotshot Tallahasse is a gun-totting cowboy who enjoyed killing his zombified neighbors. Columbus is a quiet, rational, loner who is easy to like. Wichita and Little Rock are sister con artists who have a hard time trusting anyone. They are trying to make it to Los Angeles where there may be a zombie-free amusement park for them to hang out.

Admittedly influenced by the hit zom-com, Shaun of the Dead, Z-land brings enough yucks and yuks to keep pace, but unfortunately doesn't surpass Shaun. The movie is well cast using a number of young upstarts plus Woody Harrelson, who always excels as goofy douchebags. Each brings a great amount of heart and charisma that makes the conversation much more natural than forced in either a horror or comedy way. Each character has a dark moment in the past. You'd expect most characters to have them, but unique to this film is they are not defined by them. For instance, Tallahasse suffers a great loss. One would think he would turn inward and become a loner. Instead he becomes a badass who shoots from the hip and the mouth, and while reluctantly, he still bonds with his travelling companions rather than alienating them. A refreshing take on survival horror.

When it came to the laughs, Z-Land definitely brings plenty of goods. Unfortunately, the horror side is severely lacking. There is maybe one or two startles caused by loud noises, but very little moments of terror. The gore is also severely lacking, especially for a zombie flick. Bloody faced zombies and a few shotgun squibs on their chests offer the most, far from enough. The big mistake is not having ACTUAL zombies. These zombies were suffering from a mutated strain of mad cow causing rage, aggression, and munchies. This meant the infected were fast, living, and capable of being killed from run-of-the-mill violence. On the other hand they could have been real zombies: slow, numerous, undead, and only vulnerable through messy head shots.

Overall, this is a great film for any zombie enthusiast or comedy lover. It has a few flaws, but the movie is still highly entertaining. Director Ruben Fleischer shows some great promise as a genre filmmaker.

Keep your eyes open for a great celeb cameo. Possibly the greatest.

7/10