ZOMBIELAND (USA/2009/RUBEN FLEISCHER)

Coy student Columbus is off on a road trip. Of course, this is no ordinary journey – America has fallen victim to a particularly dangerous strain of mad cow disease which has turned most of the population into hysterical zombies. After a road accident, Columbus bumps into tenacious buccaneer Tallahassee, and the two continue the journey together in his truck. On the hunt for Twinkies, they cross paths, and later team up with panhandling sisters Wichita and Little Rock. Taking refuge at Bill Murray’s house (of all places), the quartet begins to feel safe, and Columbus comes to realise his feelings for Wichita. The revelation is too intense for Wichita, as the next morning she flees the scene with her sister, hoping to reach Pacific Playland, an apparently zombie-free fairground. Determined not to give up, Columbus enlists Tallahassee’s help in tracking them down, but soon enough, the group is back to fighting for survival as the zombies return en masse.

The film is clearly played for fun, and there’s no refuting that it delivers this in abundance. Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee is the B-movie hero every zombie fan could’ve wished for. But there’s a lot about this aspiring cult comedy that doesn’t quite sit right. Columbus, played by gawky actor du jour Jesse Eisenberg, should by all rights have died ten minutes into the film. The ridiculous story about going to the fairground seems contrived purely to justify some reasonably cool effects. And perhaps most importantly, the script is annoyingly lopsided.