Zombieland: Too Much Fun to be a Horror Film

Posted by ScuzzBuster

October 3, 2009

I admit it. I was sucked in completely by the trailers for Zombieland just like virtually every other male who’s even remotely in my demographic group. Heading at warp speed toward middle-age, though, I immediately temper any expectations I have when I see a trailer that looks that funny and hip. Ultimately, the last conscious thought I had as I walked into the theater with my kid was “no matter how good or funny this might end up being, it’s not going to touch ‘Shaun of the Dead.’” Now I know whether I was right or not.

First, any zombie film lover must watch Shaun of the Dead, which is one of the most brilliant horror films ever made. It’s smart, funny, and deeply respectful in it’s homage to George Romero and the zombie genre he pioneered. Walking out of Zombieland I was pleasantly surprised that I even had to continue to debate the question at all. Was it better than Shaun? After stewing over it, it’s not. But it’s hardly fair to compare the two. Unlike Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland has virtually no subtlety. It’s straight up in your face humor and action that takes itself seriously for a total of about 35 seconds of screen time after which it smartly beats down any thought the audience has that the movie might take a turn for something less light-hearted.

So the verdict is in, Zombieland is one of the best films I’ve seen this year and it accomplishes it through a playful and fun attitude. The jokes bat about 75%, which is good for almost any comedy. And it’s not guilty humor. It comes from charming performances from its great ensemble cast. Woody Harrelson is terrific bringing just enough depth to a redneck sterotype to create a likeable original character. There is an immediate and excellent chemistry established between him and Jesse Eisenberg. By midway through the film, we’re completely comfortable with them as well as the female leads Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone. These 4 have 90% of the dialogue in Zombieland apart from the cameo of the decade smack dab in the middle of the film. If you don’t know who that cameo is yet, don’t start sifting through cast lists and shut the damn computer off before you go to any of your regular review sites or IMDB.

We like these characters. We like spending time with them and virtually every moment with Harrelson and Eisenberg on screen together is a joy to watch. It just happens to be a huge bonus that you still get more than a couple of well-earned laugh out loud moments to boot. If I had to draw a comparison to a previous zombie genre film, it would be much more appropriate to draw it against Romero’s own Dawn of the Dead. The original Dawn of the Dead was a brilliant piece of cinema that played on the conflicted emotions of the audience. What if you were in the most dismal and helpless situation in your life while at the same time getting the chance to live out a small embarrassing little fantasy that just about anyone is likely to have had at one time or another? Who hasn’t secretly wished they could get locked in a shopping mall? So there we are in Zombieland. Sure it’s a hopeless situation which has almost no chance of ending well, so you might as well make the most of it. That’s really what the film ends up being about. It’s a simple comedy about a group of awkward misfits that learn the simplest of life lessons , it just so happens that this simple story is played out in the midst of a horror tale.

So that’s the good. Even with all that heaping praise, it really isn’t quite as skilled or slick as Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the Dead. Ultimately, I believe Zombieland is a film that was built around one cool idea for a great zombie film climax and could easily have been halfway down the toilet by the time it got there. It turns out that this cool climax is okay, but it’s probably the least impressive piece of the film. It does serve it’s purpose as the film starts drag just a bit at the beginning of the third act . There’s just that one brief twinge that started to make me think that it had run its course and was about to wear out its welcome before it comes back and finishes strong.

This is simply a straight comedy. The tone and style is literally set in the opening credits. It’s a hip, self-aware approach works well without being overbearing and apart from the zombie premise there’s virtually nothing horrific or scary about. The first 15 minutes of the film is about as gory and disgusting of a zombie film you’ll ever see (kudos to the make up and effects teams), but after that the there aren’t too many outrageously gory or outlandish moments. The movie doesn’t need them and it’s always a tough mix to try to mesh horror and comedy without bringing about a mess. No mess here, though, other than some blood and green ooze here and there.

I try to almost never give an unqualified recommendation to a film, especially not to a genre film like this, but it’s hard not to like Zombieland. The opening night crowd I saw it with loved it and the credits rolled to a well earned round of applause. Don’t hesitate on this if you’re considering it all. Like the crowd I filed out of the theater with last night, you’ll probably end up with a good healthy grin. I see a lot of movies, but there’s only handful that rise above the status of “just another flick” and qualify as being just plain fun. Even with it’s flaws, this one did it for me.