Zombieland romp is fun but flawed | OU Review

Banner, Review — By Christopher Spencer on October 2, 2009 at 4:17 PM

By Christopher Spencer
Ozarks Unbound

Final Score: 3.5 out of 5 twinkies

FAYETTEVILLE – There’s an off-beat, indie sensibility that runs through Zombieland.

You can see it on the soundtrack with tunes like “No One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses and a steal from the High Fidelity soundtrack, “Oh Sweet Nuthin’” by Lou Reed. Even rock anthems like “Everybody Wants Some” by Van Halen and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica feel subversive and fun.

You can see it in the hero, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a weedy, World of Warcraft-playing, more nasal version of the character perfected by Michael Cera. Columbus is riddled with phobias and irritable bowl syndrome. He stays alive in this Zombie post-apocalyptic version of the U.S. by adhering to rules. Things like: Practice cardio, wear seatbelts, be sure you give zombies the ‘double tap’ with your shotgun and beware of bathrooms (not an easy task with an irritable bowel).

Where you don’t see this against-the-grain sensibility is in the last third of the film which feels like a cop to studio wishes to create a blood-spattered ending that plays havoc with the personalities built up so far among the characters.

In a zombie movie, unlike your typical slasher movie, I like to see the characters making choices that feel real and calculated for survival. I don’t want to mentally yell at the screen “Don’t do that. Why don’t you stay in the car? Why are you dropping your gun?”

It’s a fun movie though. There are some great one-liners, especially from Tallahassee (played by Woody Harrelson), a man who relishes a good zombie kill and has a sweet tooth for twinkies.

“Thank god for rednecks,” says Tallahassee at one point in the movie when a cache of guns is discovered. Thank god, indeed.

Columbus is the central character, but Tallahassee and Wichita (Emma Stone), the love interest, and her baby sister, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), complete the cast. It’s good to see Breslin break out of the “Little Miss Sunshine” mold in this movie.

At one point in the movie, the troupe settles into a mansion in Hollywood, eschewing all the now-abandoned A-list celebrity homes for an actor whose hilarious cameo is a tip of the hat to those indie sensibilities I mentioned above.

The best horror movies reveal something to us about ourselves. The zombie apocalypse genre is at its best when it puts characters in a pressure cooker and asks just how far they will go when faced with more than death, but also the extinction of the human race. This movie asks the question, but falters in delivering a satisfying answer. (Check out Fayetteville writer Johnathon Williams’ piece in The Morning News for an entertaining essay on the genre.)

Zombies are especially hip right now. MTV’s The Real Word:Cancun had a zombie-obsessed cast member in Bronne and, here in Fayetteville, a Zombie Crawl is being organized even as we speak.

This movie satisfies on the popcorn and soda level with it’s karo syrup-like gore and visceral, sweet zombie-slaying action. It’s enjoyable even as it fails to answer certain questions such as how the zombie outbreak started in the first place.

There’s a deeper movie in there as well. A mid-movie scene where the characters give themselves over to wanton destruction by tearing apart a Native American gift store riddled with kitsch and commodified culture (think Cracker Barrel, but for Indians) could be seen as social commentary.

However, the final scene, a set-piece in a Walt Disneyland-esque theme park, feels out of place except as a cool place to kill zombies. Again, why get out of the car? Why drop your gun?

I think director Ruben Fleischer makes a fair Big Screen debut with Zombieland, but it’s likely he didn’t have the juice to stand up to execs who demanded a more typical ending. I look forward to his next try.

6 Comments

Anna says:

October 2, 2009 at 5:22 PM

I’ve been debating about seeing this movie, but your review has convinced me! I <3 zombie movies, smart writing/characters, one-liners and general pulp fiction cheez. ty christopher!
Christopher Spencer says:

October 2, 2009 at 5:27 PM

Glad you liked the review, Anna. I’d say if you are at all on the fence, it’s worth going to see. If you’d never watch a zombie movie, then this isn’t the one to start with.

I’d love to hear your opinion after you see.
Migoi says:

October 4, 2009 at 4:30 PM

Spoiler alert…stop now if you don’t want to know….

I thought they said somewhere that it was a mutation of mad-cow with patient zero getting it from a tainted burger and then spreading it through biting others.

It’s certainly one of those movies best enjoyed by taking it at face value.

The redneck line elicited cheers and applause at the showing I attended.

My only difficulties with the movie were Columbus’s movie long fidelity to the double barrel shotgun. A capacity of two is way too low for zombie defense. Plus their definition of a “double tap” wasn’t accurate. A double tap is two shots fired in rapid succession with the second shot being fired based on the initial sight picture. This should not to be confused with a controlled pair which is two shots fired in rapid succession with the second shot executed upon full recovery of sight picture post recoil.

I don’t remember any of the characters actually doing a double tap with a firearm they just sometimes shot the same zombie twice.. the banjo bash was pretty close though.

Good review…

migoi
Christopher Spencer says:

October 4, 2009 at 4:37 PM

I think you’re entirely right. There was mention of the mutation of Mad Cow disease leading to the plague. It was such a throw-away excuse though, as to be almost not present. I contrast it with movies like Attack of the Living Dead where the disease is revealed to be part of a secret government program that becomes a significant plot point.

Still, at least the origin bone was tossed out the crowd.

All in all, quite enjoyable, but I agree, not to be taken much past face value.

Thanks for the definition of ‘double tap.’ I had no idea it had a specific meaning. That’s cool.

My stand out scenes were in the Hollywood mansion and the grocery store where the banjo got used to great effect.