Bryce Bradford
Let’s just face a reality — zombie movies are not scary. There’s just something about them that doesn’t freak people out much anymore. “Night of the Living Dead†started the genre off and it has completely gone downhill from there. “Zombieland†completely goes against everything the genre represents now; actually being a pretty good film.
Who would have thought that a movie based on zombies could do that? Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is a nerdy kid with a phobic set of rules to survive being eaten by Zombies. During his journey to his hometown to find his family, he meets Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson, a gun-toting loner whose only purpose in life is zombie-slaying and Twinkies. Yes, Twinkies. Instantly, Tallahassee goes from loner to Columbus’s surrogate big brother. Along the way, the two meet the crafty Wichita and Little Rock, who have found their own means of suvival. They soon realize they have to count on each other and stick together in order to stay alive.
There are many things that set this movie apart from the others. The comedy aspect of the movie is really what makes it work, from the words that pop up on screen at differnt times to the cameo appearance of a Hollywood actor. There is a lot that’s funny about this movie; much of it makes you believe you would do exactly what they do if it were you in their situation.
Another good thing is the actors. Individually they are all interesting, but collectively. they make for an even better group. Harrelson, who has been out of the spotlight, has made a comeback and really cuts loose with his comedic nature. But make no mistake, Eisenberg is the star of the film by portraying the cowardly zombie killer and film’s narrator. He has a noticable resemblance to “Superbad†star Michael Cera, especially in their dialogue and actions. But there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Eisenberg has found the geek humor that made Cera a breakout actor.
The film does a good job in keeping with the same tone the entire film, even with the character’s names. In lieu of using real names, the characters make plays off of where they’re from, keeping to the complete theme of what is suppose to be a fun movie.
Needless to say, this film isn’t like the others. The film is really not about the zombies. It’s a good comedy that happens to have zombies in it. The filmmakers realized that zombie movies aren’t scary, so they concentrated on making it really funny instead, throwing a zombie here and there, or everywhere, really. And it was a good call. So in hoping they decide to make a sequel, they have definitely set a new zombie bar to top.
Bryce Bradford is an agricultural communications senior.
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