Movie Review: Zombieland (2009)

The movie stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Bill Murray.

I don’t usually watch a movie because people recommended it to me. But, this was one of the exceptions to that rule a few years ago and, ever since seeing it for the first time, “Zombieland” has been one of my all-time favorite zombie movies.

The thing that has always impressed me about this movie is the way it manages to toy with a person’s emotions. Officially, it is a comedy. And, there’s a good mix of that in it, whether it’s Columbus (Eisenberg) sticking by his long list of rules, Tallahassee (Harrelson) going nuts because he can’t find a Twinkie or Murray (as himself) dressing up as a zombie as a way of surviving the apocalypse only to meet a sudden and ironic end.

But, in between the laughs, there’s also quite a bit of action and drama (especially when we learn the truth about Tallahassee’s dog). That’s very difficult to do without making a film too serious and this movie pulls it off perfectly.

Another thing I really like about this film is the fact it is actually a really good zombie flick. There are times when they are severely outnumbered by the undead and, unlike some other movies, the zombies do have a bit more energy than you would normally expect. These zombies, for example, can climb over fences. And, while it may not seem like much, it did help create some pretty intense situations that looked like they were hopeless. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve seen this movie several times and still enjoy it as much as I did the first time I watched it.

This is a film I think most people would enjoy whether they normally enjoy films about the zombie apocalypse or not. I was obviously impressed the first time I watched it and it was a movie that got added to my collection almost immediately after seeing it that first time.

My Grade: A