ZombieLand

Zombie Land

By: Nicolette Karter

        As I’ve said in the past, I’m not a huge fan of horror films, but this isn’t really one in my opinion; it’s kind of mild for it to be considered horror. It’s gory, yes, but I can stomach this. Plus it’s funny & has Woody Harrelson, so I’ll live with any amount of gore there may be in it.

        The basic premise of this is a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies, & how to live through it. There are 4 human (non-zombie) characters, lead by the meek Jesse Eisenberg (Columbus). He meets the hilarious Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee), sarcastic Emma Stone (Wichita), and the precocious Abigail Breslin (Little Rock). The reason these characters are named after towns is because they don’t want to get attached to each other, but they become friends because who doesn’t make friends in a zombie-ridden world? Anyway, I thought the make-up was really well done, and the acting was good too. The script is probably one of my favorite parts of this film because the writers managed to make this into a gory comedy, which is fun for this time of year. (Or anytime, really; but especially Halloween)

        So, the writers (& Woody Harrelson) somehow made a man who’s on a quest for the last Twinkie, snarky, foul-mouthed, & a great zombie-killer a bad-ass. If that character wasn’t done just so, then Tallahassee would have been an incredibly stupid person & dragged the whole film quality down. I love when film-makers take risks on scripts & characters, & manage to pull it off; it really speaks to their skills to turn something that could flop horribly into something awesome.

        Speaking of something horrible, that reminds me that there was a cameo by Bill Murray, who played himself. The gang is headed to some park in California, & on the way makes a pit stop in Hollywood, & they decide to crash at a celebrity’s house. The house, well mansion really, belonged to Bill Murray, who is still a human, & dresses up as a zombie so e blends in. Which is actually smart, & it works, so good for him. As expected, people still have a sense of humor while hiding from human-eating zombies, & Tallahassee, Wichita, & Bill Murray play a prank on Columbus & Little Rock. This is one of those situations that starts with “You know what we should do?” & ends with “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” So, in his zombie make-up & attire, Mr. Murray sneaks up on Columbus & Little Rock, who don’t know he’s a human. Sounds like a good prank, right? Well as a meek, overly-cautious young man/boy, Columbus always has a loaded gun around him, & shoots the oncoming zombie. Not sounding so good anymore, uh Bill Murray? That is the end of Bill Murray’s role in this film. It sounds bad, but it was actually really funny. (Unless you’re Bill Murray, I guess.)

        So, remember how I mentioned they are going to a park? This is the location of the climax, where there is a big fight with zombies. And the best part is the humans used the rides & booths in the fight. Creative & entertaining! Much like the whole movie. Just because of this, I’m tempted to mail Woody Harrelson a Twinkie, but that would be creepy and I don’t know his address.

        So, I would totally recommend this movie, it’s funny, well-made, & perfect for this time of year. What did you guys think of this movie? Was it awesome or do you shy away from movies with even a little gore in it? In which case, I wish you luck this Halloween season.