- Directed by Ruben Fleischer
- Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
- Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 28 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m9EVP8X7N8
Spoiler-free Judgment Zone
This was a really fun ride of humor, horror, and action in perfect balance. It’s got a good cast with chemistry that works, and they look like they’re having a good time with it.
Spoilery Synopsis
We get a voiceover about how America isn’t America without people. The narrator calls it “Zombieland.” He has rules for surviving, and we watch demonstrations of all of them:
1 Cardio: The fatties were the first to go.
2 Double Tap: Always shoot the dead twice. Or more.
3 Beware of Bathrooms
4 Fasten Your Seatbelts
Credits roll.
The narrator tells us that it’s been two months since the world basically ended. We immediately see that his rules work. He explains that he’s a loner, but now he kinda misses people, so he’s heading home to “Columbus” to see if his parents are still alive.
A car pulls up and a man with a shotgun gets out. It’s all very tense until Columbus puts his thumb out for a ride. “Tallahassee” agrees to give him a ride for a while. Tallahassee has a weakness for eating Twinkies. They find a Hostess truck full of… Snoballs. Columbus, on the other hand, is afraid of clowns.
We get a flashback to Columbus and his neighbor from apartment 406 before everything bad happened. She tells the story about watching a crazy homeless man who tried to bite her. She goes to sleep on his shoulder, but when they wake up, she’s a zombie. She attacks him, and he barely escapes.
Tallahassee has a sick sense of humor about the zombies, but Columbus takes it a lot more seriously. They go in search of Twinkies, which leads to grocery store carnage. They spot a girl in the store, and her sister has been bitten. “Wichita” and “Little Rock” are playing a con to get the shotgun away from Tallahassee. Then they steal their car, which really annoys Tallahassee. They find a new car soon enough.
The guys soon catch up to the girls, who appear to have broken down. The girls soon demonstrate who the smart ones are. We get a flashback to the girls conning people before the outbreak.
They all decide to go to Pacific Playland, a famous amusement park. Little Rock is about twelve years old, but she’s more mature than Tallahassee. That night, they stop at a tourist trap that’s all lit up. They wreck the place.
They eventually arrive in Hollywood, home of Pacific Playland. They shoot a few zombie actors and then grab a map to the 90210 stars’ homes. They go to the top of the A-list actors– Bill Murray’s house. Little Rock has never heard of Bill Murray, Willie Nelson, or Gandhi.
We see someone creepy approaching the group. It’s Bill Murray as a zombie. No– he’s faking it. He’s normal, but pretending to be a zombie to blend in. He gets high with Tallahassee and Wichita while Columbus and Little Rock watch “Ghostbusters.” Bill puts on his zombie wig and goes into the theater to scare Columbus, who shoots him to death. He didn’t realize it was an act.
We get a flashback to Tallahassee and his dog, who is really a child. Wichita and Columbus dance and get closer together.
Wichita and Little Rock steal the car and go to Pacific Playland. They figure out how to turn on the lights and power (Where’s the electricity coming from?). This wakes up all the zombies for miles around, who make a beeline for the park.
Columbus and Tallahassee argue about going after the girls, and Columbus leaves.
The girls are stuck on a tower, surrounded by hundreds of zombies. The guys show up and have a ball blasting the dead. Tallahassee draws most of the zombies away, while Columbus goes after the girls. Except– there’s a zombie clown. That takes less time than anyone expects, and he releases the girls.
Columbus finally gets his kiss. Tallahassee gets his Twinkie.
Commentary
The rules popping up on the screen are always funny when they resurface. “Zombie Kill of the Week” really needs to be a thing. Bill Murray stole the film even though he was only on for five minutes. We never did quite figure out how the park and other places were getting their electrical power, but that’s zombie films for you.
It never slows down. It’s funny throughout without getting too ridiculous.