There’s always one zombie flick that comes out every so many years, and it is always essentially a remake of the one before it, leaving the viewer disappointed. However, the movie “Zombieland” does not follow that sad, sad trend. The movie was released to theaters Oct. 2, 2009 then released Feb. 2, to Blu-Ray and DVD.
Zombieland was directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The cast consists of Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee), Jessie Eisenberg (Columbus), Emma Stone (Wichita), and Abigail Breslin (Little Rock). A nice surprise in the movie is having Bill Murray play himself for a short cameo role.
The reason for the odd character names in the movie is in order to not be personal with each other. They give each a place that relates to them in some way or another. For example, Columbus is heading to Columbus, Ohio, to see if he can find his parents.
The story focuses on those four main characters trying to get by in a post-apocalyptic world. First Wichita and Little Rock, who are sisters, con the boys after meeting them in a grocery store, into turning over their truck and guns, but after a chance meeting a second time, they soon find out it’s nice to have some other people around.
The groups goal is to get to Pacific Playland, a place where Columbus, Witchita, and Little Rock had been when they were children, so Little Rock (12) can have a chance to be a kid again.
Another interesting feature in the movie was including Columbus’s rules of survival pop up on screen whenever the rule was applied. Some are stated at the beginning of the movie by Columbus, while others are revealed as the movie progresses.
The movie itself was entertaining, funny and witty, though a bit grotesque from time to time. It took a break from the straight horror approach and added some much needed comedy, however tossing in some parts that would make the viewer jump every so often.
The plot of the movie kept things kind of vague, such as character backgrounds, which only provide a bit of information to each character. This made it a little hard for the viewer to connect to the characters.
The viewer only see’s vague character background to Tallahassee regarding his son Columbus, who has family in Columbus, Ohio, and Wichita and Little Rock going to Pacific Playland when children. The movie moved along well and added a slight edge with the comedy and random zombie tips. Overall, it is worth checking out at least for the change of pace compared to other zombie movies.
It felt a bit short though, only running about 81 minutes total and wrapping up kind of quickly. The conclusion was probably the best way to end the movie, instead of a huge wrap up and finish, the end is left open for a possible sequel ,to continue this new “family’s” journey through Zombieland.
