Zombieland (Blu-Ray)

Director: Ruben Fleischer,
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, Bill Murray, Derek Graf,

Rate Zombieland (Blu-Ray) DVD Release:

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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DVD Review

Let’s make no mistake about this, Zombieland doesn’t exactly have much in the way of a plot – and that’s saying something when you consider it’s being compared to other zombie movies. Reportedly inspired by the British comedy Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland doesn’t have the subtle statements on society as a whole, nor does it have the purposeful awakening of characters as they realise they’re in a fight for survival.

No, Zombieland has zombie, lots of ‘em, and it has Woody Harrelson killing them, frequently.

Despite this, Zombieland is incredibly good fun, and the Blu-Ray medium has been used to the full for every gore soaked, blood spattered scene. You know exactly what you’re in for during the opening title sequence as people are shown either dying, or inches from death, at the hands of zombies in slow motion as the blood flies through the air in vivid colour.

This is not a movie to watch with the kids or the elderly parents. It’s loud, it’s offensive and it’s hilarious – if you like zombies being shot, beaten and crushed with pianos, this one’s for you.

The film’s plot, or what there is of one, focuses on Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, and his efforts to get home from college in the midst of a zombie outbreak in the US. Columbus isn’t his real name, that’s where he’s heading, but Tallahassee (Harrelson) doesn’t like real names and insists on using place names instead.

Columbus is nervous of everyone, which comes in useful when the world is overrun by zombies. The pair meet two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock (Stone and Breslin) who seem to want nothing more than to reach an amusement park in California.

Why not?

Along the way the usual mistrust turns into trust, and then love, before they finally end up at the best part of the film, Bill Murray’s house. Tallahassee is a big Bill Murray fan and thinks that staying in Murray’s house is a good way of avoiding the zombies, which leads to a hysterical cameo from Bill Murray. Ghostbusters references fly thick and fast before the gang head off to the amusement park, and a brilliantly worked sequence where Tallahassee lays ruin to pretty much every zombie he can find in some truly imaginative ways.

As an indication of just how dumb some of the scenes are in this film, when Columbus is being chased by zombies at the amusement park, where does he head? The haunted house… sheesh.

So, as zombie films go this one’s pretty devoid of meaning – but it doesn’t need it. It’s entertaining, gore filled and worth watching just for the Bill Murray cameo, if nothing else.

Darren Jamieson

Darren has enjoyed an interest in film for many years, studying the subject at Newport Film School where he worked on the film ‘Cop on the Edge IX: Prelude to Justice‘ in a directing and acting capacity. The official site can be enjoyed here. Darren setup WhatDVD.Net in 2003 to further his love of films and to write passionately about the movies he enjoys, and about those that he doesn’t.

Although his day-to-day activities mean that he now has less time to review movies than he would ideally prefer, he still tries to review new releases, and DVDs from his extensive collection, whenever possible.
view all DVD reviews by Darren Jamieson

    

Rating: 82%

Website: http://www.zombieland.com