Zombieland delivers gore, geekery, and guffaws

By Natania Barron
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I have a confession to make: I’m not that into horror flicks. It’s not that I’m a total wuss, necessarily, but I happened to have been raised in a household where viewing such material was simply off-limits. So I didn’t really get the opportunity to watch anything gory or scary until I was well into my teens. The result? Either I find them hilariously stupid or fetal-position inducing horrifying. (Scream: funny; Pet Cemetery: *twitch*)

So when my husband asked me to see Zombieland, I was a little hesitant. I knew it was going to be a mess of guts and blood, that much I could catch from the trailer and reviews. And zombies are pretty low on the “things that terrify Natania” list (actually, the one horror movie I saw as a kid happened to be Rosemary’s Baby; so yeah, religious horror is pretty high up on the list, especially if involves birthing the child of satan) . But I was worried that it might come off as a bit too silly or just a bit too gross. I loved Shaun of the Dead, and thought they rather had the whole zombie flick parody down rather well.

Except Zombieland isn’t quite so much a parody. It’s part horror flick, part comedy, part Western, part romantic-comedy. And really, it starts off where most zombie movies end: after the zombie apocalypse. The main character is as flawed and fidgety as a young Woody Allen and his “rules for the surviving the zombie apocalypse” are among the most clever and amusing parts of the film (my favorite: #4 The Double Tap). The supporting cast, including Woody Harrelson as a kind of gunslinger of zombies with a love of NASCAR, somehow manages to balance the real terror of being left alone in a decaying world of blood and puss spewing zombies with humor and, dare I say it, heart. The thing is, as much as the movie is funny, as often as you laugh out loud, it reminds you of the importance of having friends and family, even when the zombies aren’t trying to feast on your femur.

And maybe best of all is that Columbus, the reluctant hero of the story, is very much one of us. Until the zombie apocalypse, he spent most of his time in his dorm watching movies, playing World of Warcraft, and coming up with excuses to be antisocial (not every geek is antisocial, but many of us have such proclivities). But it turns out his brains and geeky tendencies are what help him to survive, although he certainly learns a bit along the way.

So, if you’re looking for something that’s geeky (and, in parts, a little sexy) to watch this Halloween season, Zombieland‘s definitely worth the price of admission.