A timid botanist (Eisenberg), forced to trade his video game joystick for a real shotgun, journeys across a zombie-infested America. The reason behind the sudden transformation of nearly all Americans into undead cannibals remains unclear, and frankly, unimportant. What truly matters is survival. The botanist has his own method: he creates rules. For instance, always check the toilet for ambushes. A grim road hustler (Harrelson) he encounters has his own approach: eliminate zombies by any means necessary and savor the little things while still alive. Two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) whom the botanist and hustler meet have their own strategy – trust no one, hold every guy at gunpoint, and visit the famous amusement park that the younger sister didn’t get to see when the world was still relatively safe.
Zombieland: A Gift from Above
In essence, the mere appearance of Bill Murray as himself – a Hollywood celebrity living alone in a zombie-besieged (no offense to tourists) mansion in Beverly Hills – would be enough to deem “Zombieland” a gift from above. However, debut director Ruben Fleischer decided that the concept of a “comedy zombie-horror” was already so absurd that anything could be incorporated, from drama to a coming-of-age story, and he did just that. A flashback in which a balding Harrelson bathes a cute, chubby puppy in a tub, and the true nature of this story, would do credit to any Oscar-worthy drama. The escapades of little Miss Sunshine Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone resemble a teen adventure comedy. And hordes of zombies on carousels? Well, that’s just comedy zombie-horror.
A Fresh Take on Zombies
The most delightful aspect is that “Zombieland” finally frees zombies from any obligations that cinema has burdened them with in recent years. The poor creatures no longer need to be a metaphor for Third World revenge, insatiable consumerist crowds in mega-malls, ecological disasters, or scientific irresponsibility. Even the charming “Shaun of the Dead” (2004) flirted with the genre more than it changed it. Here, the undead simply emerge from nowhere to transform a familiar world into a more interesting place and grant the survivors a bit of solitude.
The Heart of Zombieland: Loneliness and Levity
Funny from start to finish, “Zombieland” is ultimately about this very loneliness and how people cope with it. Everyone here has their own rules and methods.
The rule of “Zombieland” itself has become levity – the most suitable tool for fighting zombies, boredom, loneliness, genre clichés, and Bill Murray’s sour expression.