Blood, guts, bullets and laughter - not exactly recipes you'd expect to see together in a film, and particularly not in a candidate for best movie of 2009. However, the film industry has a long history of intertwining the horror and comedy genres, albeit not always with great success. In fact, it can be argued that much of the time this combination occurs unintentionally. While the director and actors set out to make a genuinely scary horror movie, the audience sees it in a different light, finding laughter in the sheer ridiculousness of the plot or the terrible performances by the actors. Trust me when I say this is not the case with Zombieland.
With Zombieland it is clear from the very beginning that the writers, director and actors all had their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks when they created this film. Up and coming comedy actor Jesse Eisenberg, who made a name for himself in the cult hit Adventureland narrates the film, and we are introduced to the film by his character Columbus as he lays out the rules he uses to survive the harsh reality of a country overrun by flesh-eating zombies.
Eisenberg hits just the right note as a socially inept obsessive compulsive who has used his rule book to survive when 99.9% of an arguably more capable population has been wiped out. Yes, at times it seems like he learned his craft by watching Michael Cera in Arrested Development reruns, but he makes a pretty good straight man, with good comic timing.
However, as good as Eisenberg is, he is quickly overshadowed the first time Woody Harrelson's Tallahassee appears on screen. Also socially inept, but in a completely different way, Tallahassee is an elite zombie-killing machine, and never shows a hint of fear no matter how many of the creatures he faces, dispatching them in a variety of different, but spectacularly violent, ways, using just about every weapon imaginable. In between killing zombies Tallahassee manages to squeeze in plenty of classic one-liners, several of which will live on in pop culture lore for years to come, proving he still has the comedic skills that we saw in the TV show Cheers and the cult bowling movie Kingpin. In a bizarre, but amusing, side story Tallahassee spends much of the movie in search of Twinkies, for which he has developed an inexplicable craving.
Filling out the cast are Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, a pair of young, but world-wise grifters who Tallahassee and Columbus run afoul of, and eventually fall into an uncomfortable partnership with.
All in all Zombieland is classic horror comedy, much in the same vein of the British favorite Shaun of the Dead. It is certainly destined to achieve cult status, and is one of the those rare movies that fans should own in their DVD (or Blu-ray) collection, because it can be watched over and over again. Yes, hardcore horror fans might be disappointed, but with a name like Zombieland there should be little doubt that this film has comedic elements.
If you love comedy movies, and aren't turned off by violence and gore - this is a zombie movie after all - then definitely check Zombieland out. It might not have had the exposure that some of the year's biggest movies enjoyed, but is a sleeper pick for the title of best movie of 2009.
The author is an avid writer with a passion for film. Check out his list of the Top 100 Best Movies for more great film picks.