IS ZOMBIELAND GOOD?

IS ZOMBIELAND GOOD?


It dawned on me that after I posted my comment about the film ZOMBIELAND I got a lot of backlash, so, a friend of mine (being both the writers that we are) told me that I should post a note about my opinions on the film (although now that I think about it he probably meant it as a joke).

First off, let me just say that I’m probably a bigger fan of the genre then most people as I have made it abundantly clear that I not only watch zombie films but I study them as well and unlike most audience members and friends of mine, I’ve seen zombie films from countries all over the world from New Zealand (BRAINDEAD), Australia (UNDEAD), Japan (JUNK, ONE-CHANBARA), Norway (DEAD SNO), France (OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES), Ireland (BOY EATS GIRL), UK (28 DAYS LATER, SHAUN OF THE DEAD), Italy (ZOMBIE), and countless others, so, suffice it to say that I’ve been exposed to a lot of different cultures and the way in which zombies have been portrayed over the years.

American zombie films have up until recently been relegated to only two types – those of the traditional slow moving variety and those of the fast moving, and with the exception of Georgia A. Romero (writer/director of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD -1968) the slow moving have all but become extinct. Funny zombie movies have always been around (as it wasn’t until Romero’s influential NOTLD that the genre was even taken seriously) with such notable films as MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, DEATH BECOMES HER, NIGHT OF THE COMET, FIDO, AMERICAN ZOMBIE, and countless others.

When ZOMBIELAND was announced it was reminiscent to the successful UK film SHAUN OF THE DEAD (which coined the term “zomcom”) even though the filmmakers claimed in numerous interviews (from FANGORIA to RUE MORGUE magazine and beyond) that they were trying not to make a film in which characters throw records at zombies. The trailers for the film are actually a testament to the brilliant marketing plan for the film as it describes a fun and entertaining horror comedy. And the final result is all that and a bag a popcorn…but that’s all that it is.

I applaud the editor and the opening credits team for creating one of the best credit sequences since the one crafted for S7VEN or FIGHT CLUB but the problem is that the trailer was everything in the opening credits. That’s a little disconcerting considering it gives the impression that there will be zombie-madness and mayhem throughout the film. This is not the case.

For the first half of the film the filmmakers do a great job crafting a “road trip” film as we get to meet all the characters. The flashbacks for both the Woody Harrelson and Jessie Eisenberg’s characters do a great job in introducing how they ended up in the place that they are when the film begins but the two female characters’ flashback is nothing more than an incident in which we learn that they are con artists and at which case can take place at any time prior to the US becoming The United States of Zombieland. This is a great disservice to these characters especially when all the other scenes prior already show the audience that these two women are very cunning and smart. What was needed was a scene similar to that given to the other characters which is a flashback in which defines their reaction to the zombie plague.

The second half of the film is where everything falls apart. Most great road movies are all about the journey to the location but in this film when they get there they decide to go to “BM’s” house for rest and relaxation before going to the theme part where zombies have not over run. The concept for the film about of group of people coming together to find a place where zombies have not invaded is a brilliant concept. It’s one explored by Romero himself not only in his DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD films (among others), but neither of those are in the “road trip” style of film (although DAWN starts off that way but spends most of the film at the mall). ZOMBIELAND was born to be a road trip film and while the characters are on the road it is a great film but the emergence of the “BM” characters destroys the momentum of the film to a dead stop (pun intended). The film then becomes a drab character film which doesn’t do much for the main characters other then suggest the fanboy appeal of the filmmakers to “BM.” The scene goes on for far too long and it just drags the movie (which is surprising since the running time is only 80 minutes).

And then for no good reason the two females (who displayed more common sense then the men throughout the rest of the film) go off on their own adventure to find the theme park by themselves in the middle of the night. These two females then persist in turning on every ride and light in the building as if they were ringing a dinner bell for the zombies. This is surprising since this tactic is used not once but twice earlier in the film as a means to “call” the zombies from their hiding place. This all goes contrary to how the females have been envisioned thus far. They go from cunning and smart at the beginning of the film to making every dumb decision a person can make by the end just so that Eisenberg’s character has someone to save at the end of the film and Harrelson has a bunch of zombies to kill.

The ending of the film has many great death scenes but by having his females “de-evolve” by the end of the film it does everyone a great disservice and cheapens the film as a whole by allowing it to become nothing more than a “fun” and “entertaining” film. It’s clear that the filmmakers are fans of the horror and zombie genres with their homage to everything from Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER (Harrelson makes for a great Jack Brooks), SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and numerous others but what ZOMBIELAND doesn’t have that those films do is a great screenplay with smart characters that are not only fun and entertaining but great films as well. ZOMBIELAND makes no excuses for being simply an entertaining joy ride but let’s face it, it’s neither original nor the best of what the genre has to offer so we shouldn’t look at it like it is.

Many of the people whom I’m talked with about the film do not watch many zombie films nor horror films at all for that matter and many have told me that they wouldn’t have seen it if it wasn’t marketed as a comedy (kudos to the marketing department), so, in their eyes it delivers the goods and let’s face it, the majority of movie goers don’t go to watch “good” movies at the theater, they go to be entertained and if there is one thing ZOMBIELAND does do well it is to entertain despite its many flaws.

Will ZOMBIELAND be a part of my “Best Of” list? – No, it will not as there are plenty of better films out there from all over the world but will I dismiss the film in its entirety? That depends upon how good the next zomcom is which I’m sure is right around the corner (or at least the sequel to this film) and how soon this one evaporates from memory in the meantime.