Zombieland movie review
Film title: Zombieland
Year of production: 2009
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Genre: Action/ comedy horror
Year of production: 2009
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Genre: Action/ comedy horror
Brief plot outline
A zombie plague has ravaged America and killed a majority of the population. One socially awkward teenager survives the epidemic by sticking to his 32 rules and bumps into the wild and vicious Tallahassee who he soon befriends. Soon after they come across a pair of sisters; Wichita and Little Rock and, after a rocky start, head to California. Their aim is to reach Pacific Play Park whilst killing as many zombies as they can.
A zombie plague has ravaged America and killed a majority of the population. One socially awkward teenager survives the epidemic by sticking to his 32 rules and bumps into the wild and vicious Tallahassee who he soon befriends. Soon after they come across a pair of sisters; Wichita and Little Rock and, after a rocky start, head to California. Their aim is to reach Pacific Play Park whilst killing as many zombies as they can.
Which two scenes impress you the most and why?
The opening title sequence impressed me as it sets the scene for a zombie apocalypse perfectly as it shows the zombies quickly taking over the USA to turn into the dystopian ‘Zombieland’. It also represents the zombies to be quicker, smarter and more overpowering, breaking horror genre convention of traditional zombies to connote they are something more terrifying, with each shot of the slow paced montage featuring humans running away from the zombie threat, connoting that humans are weak and scared. The parallel music of Metallica’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ further representing that death is inevitable and the weaker humans don’t stand a chance.
The second scene that impressed me was ‘Pacific Play Park’ as the scene felt a lot like the final battle in the mall in Dawn of the Dead (1979). This is due to the connotations of the survivors facing overwhelming odds against the zombies. Like Dawn of the Dead (1979) it also has the ideology of an idyllic place becoming ‘a prison’ (quote; Fran, Dawn of the Dead (1979)) due to the representation of consumerism and the desire to go somewhere fun and exciting to pass the time.
The opening title sequence impressed me as it sets the scene for a zombie apocalypse perfectly as it shows the zombies quickly taking over the USA to turn into the dystopian ‘Zombieland’. It also represents the zombies to be quicker, smarter and more overpowering, breaking horror genre convention of traditional zombies to connote they are something more terrifying, with each shot of the slow paced montage featuring humans running away from the zombie threat, connoting that humans are weak and scared. The parallel music of Metallica’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ further representing that death is inevitable and the weaker humans don’t stand a chance.
The second scene that impressed me was ‘Pacific Play Park’ as the scene felt a lot like the final battle in the mall in Dawn of the Dead (1979). This is due to the connotations of the survivors facing overwhelming odds against the zombies. Like Dawn of the Dead (1979) it also has the ideology of an idyllic place becoming ‘a prison’ (quote; Fran, Dawn of the Dead (1979)) due to the representation of consumerism and the desire to go somewhere fun and exciting to pass the time.
How has watching the film helped me
understand this genre?
This film covered many of the areas on the genre checklist. One aspect is the characters and the fact that they all survive, resulting in an unconventional lack of “final girl” character, but rather a “final group” as they all stuck to the motif of the 32 rules throughout the film. This reinforces the ideology that following rules and being good in the horror genre results in your survival. Tallahassee portrays the strong male hero character due to his skill with phallic weapons which only represent his masculine role. He’s similar to Peter from Dawn of the Dead (1979) except he’s a southern redneck, the one group that the auteur Romero represented to be bad. The fact that a redneck is a male hero connotes a change in historical context where all humans are represented equally.
For mise-en-scene, body horror is present in the multiple zombie kills and Tallahassee’s melee kills specifically in the store. Restricted narration is also used for the “Rule 4” scene where a man dies on the toilet. Another example of this is when Tallahassee chops of a zombie’s head with a pair of secateurs.
Parallel music is used in the majority throughout the film with Johnny Cash’s ‘I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry’ being used to represent Tallahassee’s sad emotions which is also effective for him as a character as it reinforces the southern country stereotype.
Zombieland also features a variety of editing techniques. Slow paced montages are used when Tallahassee is telling his backstory to connote tension and sadness, quick paced montages are used for action scenes like in Pacific Play Park where hordes of zombies are dying quickly and collision cutting is used with examples being no parallel music to parallel music when Wichita and Columbus kiss with the music connoting power and a heroic coolness, in turn representing what Columbus has become.
In terms of cinematography, there’s a close up of Columbus when a girl known as “406” attacks him giving connotations of fear and panic. The beginning of the film also features a canted handheld angle which rotates from being upside down to the right way up that connotes a scared uncertainty of the Zombieland.
This film covered many of the areas on the genre checklist. One aspect is the characters and the fact that they all survive, resulting in an unconventional lack of “final girl” character, but rather a “final group” as they all stuck to the motif of the 32 rules throughout the film. This reinforces the ideology that following rules and being good in the horror genre results in your survival. Tallahassee portrays the strong male hero character due to his skill with phallic weapons which only represent his masculine role. He’s similar to Peter from Dawn of the Dead (1979) except he’s a southern redneck, the one group that the auteur Romero represented to be bad. The fact that a redneck is a male hero connotes a change in historical context where all humans are represented equally.
For mise-en-scene, body horror is present in the multiple zombie kills and Tallahassee’s melee kills specifically in the store. Restricted narration is also used for the “Rule 4” scene where a man dies on the toilet. Another example of this is when Tallahassee chops of a zombie’s head with a pair of secateurs.
Parallel music is used in the majority throughout the film with Johnny Cash’s ‘I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry’ being used to represent Tallahassee’s sad emotions which is also effective for him as a character as it reinforces the southern country stereotype.
Zombieland also features a variety of editing techniques. Slow paced montages are used when Tallahassee is telling his backstory to connote tension and sadness, quick paced montages are used for action scenes like in Pacific Play Park where hordes of zombies are dying quickly and collision cutting is used with examples being no parallel music to parallel music when Wichita and Columbus kiss with the music connoting power and a heroic coolness, in turn representing what Columbus has become.
In terms of cinematography, there’s a close up of Columbus when a girl known as “406” attacks him giving connotations of fear and panic. The beginning of the film also features a canted handheld angle which rotates from being upside down to the right way up that connotes a scared uncertainty of the Zombieland.
Which aspects of the film would you like to
include in your own trailer?
I’d like to include the deep and interesting characters, like the ones present in Zombieland. I liked that they had a very strong connection despite the limited backstory that resulted in them becoming a ‘family’ at the end of the film. That connection represents horror is able to bring people together and act together to defeat it, a representation I’d like to include in my film.
The other aspect of the film I’d like to include is a fast paced monster that would add more tension and can be edited in a quick paced montage of chase or murder scenes. Fast paced monsters are also conventionally smarter than a horde of slow moving monsters meaning that some scenes of psychological horror and voyeurism can be included.
I’d like to include the deep and interesting characters, like the ones present in Zombieland. I liked that they had a very strong connection despite the limited backstory that resulted in them becoming a ‘family’ at the end of the film. That connection represents horror is able to bring people together and act together to defeat it, a representation I’d like to include in my film.
The other aspect of the film I’d like to include is a fast paced monster that would add more tension and can be edited in a quick paced montage of chase or murder scenes. Fast paced monsters are also conventionally smarter than a horde of slow moving monsters meaning that some scenes of psychological horror and voyeurism can be included.
Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid
in your own trailer?
I’d like to avoid the comedic subgenre that’s present with the horror and action. The comedy is hard to replicate and a more serious film would be easier to make as the comedy wouldn’t need to be written in. The other aspect I didn’t want in the film would be zombies as the idea is to focus the narrative around one killer priest.
I’d like to avoid the comedic subgenre that’s present with the horror and action. The comedy is hard to replicate and a more serious film would be easier to make as the comedy wouldn’t need to be written in. The other aspect I didn’t want in the film would be zombies as the idea is to focus the narrative around one killer priest.
What was the best aspect/more enjoyable
moment in the film and can it be recreated in your film?
For me the best aspect of the film was the characters close natural connection and limited backstory which allowed the characters to develop easily as the narrative progressed. This can be recreated in our film as we could have a small band of characters form together to try and kill the priest.
For me the best aspect of the film was the characters close natural connection and limited backstory which allowed the characters to develop easily as the narrative progressed. This can be recreated in our film as we could have a small band of characters form together to try and kill the priest.
How does the film reflect the institutional or historical context?
Analyse two scenes/events that reflect the time this film was made?
One event that reflects the historical context of Zombieland is the scenes from ‘Pacific Play Park’, the theme park that Wichita and Little Rock want to visit. The fact they want to hold up there connotes the boom in their popularity, especially with the younger generation are attracted to them. It’s similar to the way the auteur George Romero represented people to be attracted to malls in Dawn of the Dead (1979) as, for the context of the time they were exciting and new, like how theme parks were new and exciting to Little Rock in Zombieland.
The other significant event is Tallahassee’s obsession with Twinkies which is highlighted several times throughout the film. His search connotes an addiction to junk food and represents that without it, his life would fall apart. This addiction to junk food also represents the consumerist US culture with that even in the zombie apocalypse the male hero still craves the normality of processed food in an attempt to try and feel better and also explains the number of “fatties”, as Columbus calls them that appear at various points throughout the film.
One event that reflects the historical context of Zombieland is the scenes from ‘Pacific Play Park’, the theme park that Wichita and Little Rock want to visit. The fact they want to hold up there connotes the boom in their popularity, especially with the younger generation are attracted to them. It’s similar to the way the auteur George Romero represented people to be attracted to malls in Dawn of the Dead (1979) as, for the context of the time they were exciting and new, like how theme parks were new and exciting to Little Rock in Zombieland.
The other significant event is Tallahassee’s obsession with Twinkies which is highlighted several times throughout the film. His search connotes an addiction to junk food and represents that without it, his life would fall apart. This addiction to junk food also represents the consumerist US culture with that even in the zombie apocalypse the male hero still craves the normality of processed food in an attempt to try and feel better and also explains the number of “fatties”, as Columbus calls them that appear at various points throughout the film.
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