By Christina Espinoza / Asst. Inscape Editor
By Christina Espinoza / Asst. Inscape Editor
“Zombieland” is not the usual zombie comedy.
One might question the genius of Director Ruben Fleischner, creator of “Rob and Big,” for directing his first feature film and feeding the need for another great zombie movie.
“Zombieland” will no doubt replace “Shaun of the Dead” on our movie shelves, or at least it will be placed next to it.
Starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg (“Adventureland”), alongside Emma Stone (“Superbad”) and Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”), “Zombieland” takes place in a near apocalyptic world where a mutated version of the mad-cow virus has infected the human race.
The virus causes severe symptoms in its host, one of which includes becoming a flesh-eating zombie.
Eisenburg is very funny as Columbus, a timid guy in his mid-twenties who follows a particular set of rules he’s created in order to survive the land of zombies.
Columbus finds himself traveling to a “zombie-free zone” with three other uninfected survivors and a dangerously funny journey begins.
Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, was better at killing zombies than adding comedic flare to the film.
His big gun, big truck and Twinkie loving personality make the film more entertaining.
Harrelson offers a number of memorable and clever catch phrases to the film, most of which cannot be repeated due to inappropriate language.
Stone plays Wichita, a seductively dangerous young woman and Breslin plays her kid sister, Little Rock.
The feisty con-artist duo stays alive by sticking together and doing anything to survive.
Together, Stone and Breslin prove to be the perfect spice to keep the film tasteful, adding bad-girl charm to the business of zombie killing.
The foursome’s drive to find “zombie-free” land is full of side-splitting, zombie splattering fights complete blood, guts, gore and the frantic quest by Harrelson’s character to find the last Hostess Twinkie on Earth.
Bill Murray plays a version of himself and almost steals the show in some of the most memorable scenes of the film.
Since the world domination by zombies, Murray manages to stay alive in his Hollywood mansion by using make-up techniques he learned from his late make-up artist.
Murray lends a helping hand to the foursome as they sweep through Hollywood while heading toward their “zombie-free” destination.
Murray is hilarious, as only Murray can be, and in one comical scene of the film, he re-enacts a former scene from his earlier movie “Ghostbusters” with Harrelson and Stone.
Murray reminded fans just how amusingly subtle and entertaining his humor is.
Murray‘s performance sparked excitement in fans for the long awaited “Ghostbusters III” which is set to be released in 2012.
Like most other horror movies, characters make the common mistake of going the wrong way into danger which causes the audience to ask “why?”
But the result of “Zombieland” is well worth this brief annoyance and obviously movie-goers don’t mind since the zombie comedy ranked No. 1 in the box office in its opening weekend. It made almost $25 million, which is about $1 million more than its budget.
All in all, “Zombieland” offers something for everyone and sets it’s place in pop-culture history as one of the funniest zombie movies of the year.
