The last few years, it seems ever since the runaway success of Juno, we have been swamped by flicks based on the characters of awkward 90s American teens. Which suits us over this side of the water fine, as we’re not so different afterall. All of geekdom has poured out in praise of films celebrating people just like them, and Zombieland is no exception.

Although this isn’t reeeaally a sci-fi movie, and is only barely a horror movie, I felt it needed a review to itself anyway. After all it hit #1 on the film charts and has enough zombies in it to fill Dawn of the Dead. But it is, I admit, at heart, a teen comedy more along the lines of Superbad than the British great 28 Days Later. But nevermind.

The inserted rules are fairly funny and will be familiar things in a new format for zombie apocalypse film enthusiasts

As with many films of this genre, the opening of the film is a self-reflective piece, giving you an introduction to the life of this lonely, awkward, pubescent American teenager. What’s unusual is this self reflective piece is an incredibly amusing sequence of him running circles round zombies reciting to us his common-sense rules of surviving in a world populated by zombies. Rules such as double-tap (that all self-respecting geeks would understand on hearing), cardio (the exact opposite) and wearing a seatbelt seem fairly minor given his predicament. But you begin to understand them as he carries out the execution of a douzen flesh-devouring creatures without so much as breaking a sweat. This is where Eisenberg shines through. He is challenging Michael Cera for the role of greatest virginal pubescent teenager and there’s a reason for it, he pulls it off extremely well. Not only does the role seem to come naturally to him, but he acts it extremely well, every emotion is realistic, every motive evident, every piece of dialogue felt and seen. There really is no faulting him, except that he’s not Michael Cera.

When in doubt, a cowboy with a grudge and a hella lot of guns is an instant success

…and then give him a banjo… just look at that look of concentration

The story develops with the addition of an amusingly stereotypical new-age cowboy and two teen girls, of which the eldest is the average geek’s wildest dream… probably why she also started in a similar role in Superbad. Together, despite their ups and downs, they struggle their way through in a world overrun, including an incredibly funny cameo by Bill Murray. This cast provides an excellent character selection for the film, with just the right number of characters to allow us to connect and yet keep us interested.

The storyline is a little odd, they are after all aiming to end up in a theme park, which seems to be more of a plot device for the ending than to actually make sense, though the cynic may see this as a ploy by the elder of the two sisters to keep her younger sibling’s hopes high… a little bit difficult to push to whilst watching a comedy movie. Bill Murray’s cameo, though funny, does send off logic on a little bit of a run. Again however, it is a comedy, and needs to be seen in this respect, and not taken too seriously.

What scary-ness the zombies have is removed by the amusing ways in which they are killed

Technically the movie is fine. Camera-work is ok, music is unnoticeable but does add to the film’s feel. Editing is again ok, a few more scenes could have been trimmed a little. Make-up again fine, making the zombies undead but not too scary. The addition of the “rules” system used by Columbus is clever and inserted well. Overall there’s nothing exceptional about it but also… there’s nothing wrong at all. This film makes no mistakes. I always try and keep a fair balance in my reviews and find things to say “well, but THIS wasn’t that great”, but here I just… can’t. Zombieland simply didn’t do anything wrong enough to put off the average audience. If you’re not a fan of comedy? It has its serious moments. Not a fan of emotional moments? It’s mostly comedy. Not a fan of zombies? They’re not even scary. To the point where half the time they leave me in stitches, including an amazing scene with a piano.

Zombieland crashed in with high critical reviews and ended up overtaking every other zombie classic in gross intake… and for once the agreement with both is an agreement for all. This is an exceptional movie if you stick to it, and together with Shaun of the Dead, proves Zombies are as successful in comedy as in horror. It manages to do plenty right, but with nothing wrong, and that proves to be good enough to make a movie I’d willingly watch over and over.

4/5
A