Zombies line up to bust a gut – with laughs

When it comes to horror-movie monsters, I’m firmly in the zombie camp. Fast, slow, virus-stricken or voodoo-bidden, I am pumped to see them bow-leggedly strut their stuff in the newest addition to the zombie comedy trend.

Everything that a die-hard fan could want is here. There’s the small band of survivors, the harrowing escape from legions of undead and, of course, some creative dismembering. But this being a zombie comedy, the kills are cartoonishly gory and survivors’ melodramatic, terrified whimpers are kept to a bare minimum.

Through the main character – socially inept college student Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) – “Zombieland” also couches its carnage in a coming-of-age story, letting the zombies munch away at a genre that takes itself way too seriously.

There are a few flubs, such as Tallahassee’s (Woody Harrelson) juvenile “nut up or shut up” catchphrase, in the otherwise hilarious dialogue. And the plot, which consists of a California-bound road trip through a decimated string of southern states, is pretty predictable.

But that’s OK. Zombie films aren’t supposed to be about the plot – they’re about the people left behind.

And the emphasis on character development makes “Zombieland” a worthy addition to the genre.