One of the most popular horror film villains is the zombie, popularized for modern audiences by George A. Romero with Night of the Living Dead in 1968, Dawn of the Dead 10 years later, and beyond. Zombie films have been serious and comedic over the years, and the latest example of the latter is Zombieland, a witty, fun, and extremely entertaining piece of silliness that will be heaven for those partial to the mix of horror and comedy.

As with most zombie films, Zombieland is set in a world where a zombie outbreak has left the world's cities and towns deserted by humans and left trashed, with hungry zombies roaming the place for "food." The film follows two men, Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who have found a way to survive the overrun world of zombies. Joining forces with Wichita (Superbad's Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin), they continue to try and survive the land of the zombies.

Zombieland is one of those films that delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Anyone going in expecting anything deep or meaningful needs to seriously re-think their movie judgment. What makes it such a fun watch is the great mix of comedy and horror, but like another zombie horror comedy, Shaun of the Dead, it leans more toward the comedy side of things. Almost every moment is filled with witty and genuinely funny dialogue: the abusive but playful banter between Eisenberg (who seems like a funnier, more effective Michael Cera) and Harrelson (who's clearly having a lot of fun playing this gun-toting role) is an absolute joy to watch. Apart from the fun performances, this enjoyment comes from the fact that the two characters are polar opposites — Columbus is paranoid, cautious, and slightly shy and reserved, while Tallahassee is confident, casual, and almost blasé. Them playing off of one another is surprisingly one of the strongest elements of the film.

Article Author: Ross Miller

I am a film critic and blogger, and have been so for almost three years now, going from starting my own movie review website, Movie World (which is still running), and then moving on to writing for various movie blogs.

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