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.

Graphic Novel Review: MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS

The Marvel Universe has jumped on the band wagon in terms of how much our culture and times have made the zombie genre of horror a pop phenomena from the plethora of films (i.e. SHAUN OF THE DEAD, ZOMBIE DIARIES, 28 DAYS LATER, etc.) to animation (i.e. DEAD SPACE and RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION) and now to comics (i.e. THE WALKING DEAD, WAKE THE DEAD, THE EVIL DEAD, and countless others, but it is Marvel’s alternate universe that has been over run by a zombie plague that has captured readers from all kinds.

I’ve never caught any of the Marvel Zombies series in their initial run waiting instead for the collected graphic novel. The first Marvel Zombies series was the first thing I’d read from Marvel comics in over twelve years (I hadn’t given up on the medium only become more immersed in Manga and what publishers IDW and Dark Horse where releasing) and boy did I pick the right time to come back. That first series made me an instant fan and I read the subsequent graphic novels MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES both of which made me want to know more about how this whole phenomena started. MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS is the collection of all the appearances of the Marvel Zombies leading up to the first MARVEL ZOMBIES stories including the prequel MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS (from which the collection gets it name).

In addition to the prequel DEAD DAYS this massive graphic novel collects the first story about the Marvel Zombies “Crossover” from ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #21-23, the continuation of the story ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #30-32 called “Frightful,” and the last part of this early trilogy “Good Eatin’” from BLACK PANTHER #28-30. That’s 10 big issues of Marvel Zombie goodness in one collected graphic novel. Old school Marvel readers (such as myself) may not care for the Ultimate line of Marvel titles seeing as though they are a retelling of the Marvel Universe for the newer generation. Although this was my very first experience with the Ultimate titles I wasn’t too put back as even though the Fantastic Four are a much different team now then when I was growing up the “characters” were true to whole they’ve always been which is a great testament to writer Mark Miller who wrote both “Crossover” and “Frightful.” In my opinion the story “Good Eatin’” felt like a third part in a trilogy which is big action but little story but since this story was in BLACK PANTHER this is to be expected. This can also be said of the prequel story “Dead Days,” which also works in parts but not as a whole which I presume is because writer Robert Kirkman only had the one issue to tell the story instead of several issues.

The artwork from all four stories is top notch (from pencilers Sean Phillips, Greg Land, Mitch Breitweiser, and Francis Portela) and the original covers are provided in the back of the book for those curious fans (such as myself) who wanted to know what painter Arthur Suydam concocted next. The graphic novel as a whole is a great addition to any collector’s bookshelf with stories that you will reread time and time again (I know I will).