Locations – or at least places – play a big part in Zombieland. Not least the fact that the characters are named after their all-American home towns, now lost to the Zombie apocalypse. The movie’s mostly a cross-country jaunt by a group of mis-matched travel companions, riding out the disaster and heading for Playland amusement park in Los Angeles where the youngest traveller had once had happier times.
I was interested to read though that the movie didn’t ever get as far as California; Playland actually filmed at the Valdosta, Georgia Wild Adventures Water & Theme Park. I also chuckled at the idea that the movie star mansion that features so grandly in the film, is not only NOT a Hollywood home – it’s an Atlanta mcMansion – it’s also for sale. Go ahead, gawk.
As for the movie – and taking into account my generally low-brow tastes when it comes to Zombie horror – I thought it rocked. Emma Stone exhibits a notable combination of beauty, vulnerability and grit, Woody Harrelson works his 501s quite nicely thank-you-very-much, and Jesse Eisenberg carries the film’s core role like a geeky super-hero. The plot is handled with aplomb and, on reflection, there’s an interesting subtext of loss that you don’t normally see in this kind of film. Especially a film this fun. Superior.
