Next Stop Zombieland...
So I just got Zombieland from Netflix a few days ago. Yeah I know I am well behind on this one but all I can say is that this film is an instant classic and pure brilliance. While I had heard a really positive review from Scott Sigler, the modern day horror writer/podcaster himself, I didn't think it could compete with Shaun of the Dead on the comedic front. I was wrong. This film goes the extra mile in all respects. Rule #1 Cardio...
While the two movies share the same flair for comedy and both add the love interests element, the one thing that they don't share is the same version of zombie. Shaun of the Dead goes with the old school zombie 1.0 variety. The classic slow walking mummy type. Zombieland subscribes to the new and improved zombie 2.0 format, which can be summarized as a virus infected athletes late for breakfast. These are some blood spitting sprinters with their hearts set on you being their next meal.
I'm not exactly sure what it is about but the undead on speed and a injecting a sense of humor into the genre that does it for me but it seems to be a winning combination. Don't get me wrong I'm still a huge fan of 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead (2004) both of which subscribe to the zombie 2.0 speed but mostly maintain a serious tone throughout. Until now it seems now one has done both. Comedy on speed. Either way the speed element in zombie 2.0 won't be going away any time soon. And the winning combination that Zombieland brought to the table by marrying the two elements of speed may be the formula of the future for this genre.
