MONKEY REVIEW: Zombieland

Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland, from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, ranks up there with Shaun Of The Dead, Return Of The Living Dead and Army Of Darkness as one of the most entertaining horror comedies ever made. Zombieland is set in a future United States that, like much of the rest of the world, has been almost completely overrun by a zombie plague. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), who narrates the movie, has become an accomplished zombie plague survivor, attributing his longevity to sticking to a set of rules he’s established. (“Rule #1: Cardio.”) He meets up with fellow survivors, all of whom reluctantly band together, despite their instincts to go it alone. Fleischer has openly admitted that he was inspired by Shaun Of The Dead, and like that movie, Zombieland succeeds by introducing well drawn characters and placing them in outrageous situations that are by turns funny, frightening and surprising. And because you end up caring about the characters (in addition to Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin also star), the movie works up a good deal of suspense. This is absolutely one of my favorite movies of the year, and the first time in a long time that I wanted to see a movie I’d just seen over again immediately. Zombieland is a gory, frightening and outrageously funny good time.

MONKEY RATING: ONE ZOMBIE MONKEY

(For a brief explanation of the Monkey Review rating system, click here.)