MANILA, Philippines?We?ve had it up here with zombie movies, so we were delighted to watch ?Zombieland,? a film that spoofs them with great scorn and relish for the ridiculous bloodfests they are. The send-up?s effect on us was rinsingly cathartic, and we can?t thank its makers enough for ridiculing those ghastly ghouls to comedic extinction.
The flick is set in the near future, when the planet has been taken over by the living dead, who?ve spread their pestilence so far and wide that ?normal? humans have become a rarity. Thus, the world?s overwhelming population of zombies is hungry and thirsty for untainted blood and flesh, and the few remaining survivors have acquired amazing skills that enable them to remain alive in a world transformed into a ghastly graveyard of the ambulant undead.
Young survivor
The movie?s story zeroes in on a young survivor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who has come up with a number of ?rules? that have enabled him to keep hordes of marauding, attacking zombies at bay?thus far.
His self-originated caveats include shooting a zombie not once but twice, just to make sure it?s been knocked out for good; being extra careful in a toilet stall, for fear of being attacked literally with one?s pants down; avoiding the sexy importunings of lovely strangers who turn out to be bloodthirsty zombies?etc.
These rules serve our young protagonist well, but the time comes when his life is at risk once more. Before the marauding zombies? dastardly deed is done, however, his savior appears just in the nick of time in the person of Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), who efficiently blasts the attacking zombies to smithereens.
Two sisters
To stay alive, the two survivors decide to team up on their way to what they hope is a relatively zombie-free part of the States. Soon enough, they?re joined by two sisters, played by Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, who first trick them into submission, before finally learning to trust them.
Despite their best efforts, however, the fleeing foursome is eventually overwhelmed by the teeming zombie throng. The zombies trap them in an amusement park, and are about to devour them?when the movies? regulation Happy Ending snatches victory for the human race at the very last minute.
?Zombieland? is generally funny and feisty, but the time comes when all those zombies whom our ?heroes? blast or hack to bits end up overstaying their comedic welcome. Greater variety and novelty are sorely needed, but all the movie can come up with is more of the same ghastly thing.
