“Zombieland,” directed by Ruben Fleischer, has all the great makings of a zombie film: zombies, survivors killing the zombies with shotguns and cars, and more zombies to take their fallen comrades’ places.
The flick succeeds in character development, top-notch visual effects and zombie-based dark humor, so it’s forgivable that the movie lacks a strong story and tries too hard to be quirky.
Fleischer immediately immerses the viewer in the zombie-filled world, starting the film with rapid shots of zombies chasing down and devouring humans in a fountain of blood and entrails.
The beginning suggests a non-stop kill fest, but the film quickly shifts its focus to the protagonist, Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, and his fellow zombie survivor Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson, as they voyage across the country while fending off zombies.
Eventually, the duo meets Wichita and Little Rock, two sisters who are also making their way across the country to California.
It seems writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick spent a lot of time creating plausible characters, because the protagonists survive by means of their personalities rather than by luck, which is the norm in other zombie flicks.
Tallahassee survives because he hates the zombies for killing his son. Wichita and Little Rock survive because before the disease outbreak they were con artists and always distrustful of others.
And watching these diverse characters interact is one of the great pleasures of “Zombieland.” Whether they are destroying a rest stop to enjoy the “little things” or sharing a road trip and screaming at each other about the driving, they’re ludicrously funny.
However, with a heavy focus on characters, the story line often seems direction-less.
For example, one scene involves a cameo from Bill Murray who gets shot in the chest while pretending to be a zombie. While this is possibly the best cameo of the year and the scene is hilarious, its relevance to the main story is unclear.
Then again, the main story is that the characters are heading to California in search of a Twinkie.
The viewer often forgets that the world is overrun by zombies until Columbus, via a heavy-handed voice-over, reminds everyone that the protagonists are still in danger.
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The voice-over is just one example of how “Zombieland,” like many other Hollywood films, nearly forces odd elements into the plot, in an effort to be as original as “Juno” and “Adventureland.”
Graphical elements like the protagonist’s thoughts written on screen are fun at first but are ultimately distracting.
The film also features a precocious 12-year-old who is clearly smarter than the adults, à la “Little Miss Sunshine” and “500 Days of Summer.” This sort of character has become a mainstream element and is no longer a creative stroke of genius.
It’s disappointing to see Fleischer still shoving these quirky tricks into a film to make it seem unique.
Fleischer does manage to imbue the film with some originality thanks to the zombie elements. Like any zombie flick, the undead creatures are covered in blood and have a lust for human flesh, but these zombies also possess a human touch. They can get fat if they eat too much, and they have the uncanny knowledge that people are most vulnerable when they’re sitting on the toilet.
Plus, the zombie kills are some of the best. There’s one with a rubber mallet, another with a steel banjo to the face, and still another with a lid from a toilet tank. The deaths, while soaked with an undue amount of gore, are hilarious, and each one always outdoes the last.
Overall, “Zombieland” is the definition of a fun movie. While viewers looking for coherency might be disappointed, the film will engage everyone else with horrifying and comedic zombie moments and deep, sensible characters that will leave the audience’s own lust for zombie action satisfied.
*“Zombieland”
Opens Friday
Rated ‘R’
B*
