Cinema review
Director Ruben Fleischer
Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Release date 9 October 2009

The last survivors of a zombie apocalypse travel across America to visit a theme park and enjoy a taste of normality...

Call it the zombie defence: "I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character," said Woody Harrelson, trying to explain away an altercation with a paparazzi photographer. It's a believable story, given that the part of red-neck zombie killer Tallahassee is a role he was surely born to play. Harrelson is perfect casting as the rough, tough cowboy badass who is happy to use whatever means necessary to undo the undead - whether it be knife, golf club, AK47 or our personal favourite, garden shears. All in the search for the last Twinkie.

It's also no wonder Harrelson had trouble leaving his character behind, given that Zombieland is such a fun place to be. Essentially a road movie set in a ruined America, Z-Land is a world where any name but your place of birth is unnecessary, where comedy dances a fine line with gore and where sticking to the rules laid down by Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) can save your life.

Director Ruben Fleischer uses this list of dos and don'ts to great comic effect, often painting them across the screen to emphasise the point. He also peppers his film with enough film gags to keep even casual film fans in on the joke. This reaches its height in an inspired cameo by a well-known comic actor, who sends himself up wonderfully.

Is it the new Shaun Of The Dead? Not quite, but it's easily the closest we've come so far. And that's high praise indeed. Having stormed the box office already in America, hopefully it won't take much more than one of those delicious Twinkies to get Harrelson on board for a sequel. He may even let you take his picture... Matt Chapman

VERDICT: 8/10
Strap yourself in for a rollercoaster of a zombie film that'll have you humming its main theme long after you've unbuckled yourself.