Sunday, October 11, 2009 Zombieland

Took my teenaged godson to see Zombieland last night. It didn’t suck.

It’s not a horror-comedy. It’s an action-comedy, with 28 Days Later-inspired “infected” serving as the numberless mooks to be dispatched with ease by the protagonists. And the filmmakers don’t let anything get in the way of the ass-kicking fantasy.

Aside from a couple of “gotcha” moments early on, there’s no scares to be found. There is a half-hearted theme concerning trust and loneliness, but the movie’s one major attempt at emotional resonance is immediately followed by a one-liner and a sight gag. There is almost no “survival horror” element to this film. Food, water, and shelter are of absolutely zero concern to the characters. Everyone has an unlimited supply of ammo (until it is dramatically important, of course). And despite the fact that the Earth is supposedly overrun by fast-moving zombies, folks are able to traverse long distances on foot without incident.. One never gets the feeling that any of the characters are ever really in danger.

(Which I guess is a necessity given the script. Stranding someone without transportation and weapons in a real zombie film is tantamount to murder. It’s kind of hard to build a doe-eyed romance on top of that.)

All of this makes a lot of sense when you learn that Zombieland was originally developed as a weekly television series. The threadbare plot does feel like two episodes of a tv show stitched together for a syndication package. And it explains the small cast, which is the major hurdle in establishing a horrific mood, as there's no "expendable" characters around to meet a gruesome fate. It doesn't explain the lackluster action pieces, though, which is a serious crime given that they're such a strong focus of the film.

But all that said, there's still enough in Zombieland to make it enjoyable. Foremost is the awesome celebrity cameo that has been spoiled for you by now I’m sure. The first meeting between the male protagonists was pretty honest given the rest of the film. Woody Harrelson seems to be having a grand old time. And the opening credits were a blast; if the movie had given us more of that and the “Zombie Kill of the Week”, I’d have been a happy man.

The setting for the climax of Zombieland is appropriate given the nature of the film. It is essentially a carnival thrill ride. It’s big, dumb, and loud, and after riding it once you’ve pretty much experienced everything it has to offer.