There are several routes one can take when making a zombie film. The most widely used approach would be the serious take on the genre, such as Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later or Zack Snyder’s remake, Dawn of the Dead. The second approach, and the most fun, would be the comedic approach used in Shaun of the Dead and in Ruben Fleischer’s new zombie killing opus, Zombieland.

Zombieland follows a world overrun with the living undead. Everything we once knew has been destroyed, even the U.S. is no longer has a functioning government. The film opens with one of the most creative title sequences in recent memory. There are multiple slow motion zombie kills accompanied by Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”  After seeing the amazing title sequence, it’s obvious that first time director, Ruben Fleischer comes from a background of music video direction and title sequence design.

It's hard enough to find your car keys in the dark, let alone while being chased by flesh-eating zombies.

The film follows Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a young man who has survived the zombie apocalypse by adhering to his own set of strict rules. His rules include helpful zombie survival skills such as – when shooting a zombie, use the double tap method, once in the chest and once in the head, to make sure they’re dead. He also has a phobia of getting caught with his pants down, so one must always be careful in bathrooms.  Columbus was a college student before the world was turned into a zombie land so he decides to travel back to his hometown. He knows the chances of his family still being alive are slim but he is starved for human interaction. While traveling across the country, he meets zombie-killer extraordinaire, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson).

The two are complete opposites, Ohio is the shy, nervous kid; Tallahassee is the completely out there, zombie hunter. Even their views on zombies are completely different. While Ohio laments what the human race has come to, Tallahassee only wants to bash them to a pulp. The two travelers soon happen across another pair of survivors, sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). (Are you seeing a pattern with the character names?) The sisters, who initially trick Ohio and Tallahassee, soon realize that they are safer joining forces with the two men.  Wichita and Little Rock are heading to an amusement park in California, which they believe is in a zombie free town. The four survivors head off to the west coast, and on the way encounter many zombie infestations. The film includes several enjoyable zombie killing sequences but all are played for laughs. In the film’s most hilarious – and what will be its most talked about sequence – the crew, while traveling through Hollywood, decide to seek shelter at the home of Hollywood’s top star, Bill Murray. The star’s cameo is a hilarious one and it’s the best portion of the film.

The only thing scarier than a clown, is an undead one.

This being a zombie film, horror fans are probably wondering, “Yeah, but what about the zombies?” Well, in Zombieland the undead are mostly glimpsed while trying to attack the films protagonists. There are a few gruesome close-ups of them devouring flesh, but the film is more focused on delivering laughs than being a classic zombie film. The film does however feature zombies being dispatched with everything from bullets to banjos. It’s obvious the writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, had a great time coming up with all the ingenious ways the film’s zombies meet their demise.

The performances here are uniformly good, and while we only get a little background on each character’s motivations, none of the roles are underwritten. Each actor gets numerous laughs and equal time to shine. Jesse Eisenberg has gone from Adventureland to Zombieland, and he perfectly captures Ohio’s neurotic tendencies and longing for a human relationship, as Ohio and Wichita begin to fall for one another. Even Little Miss Sunshine star, Abigail Breslin gets a lot of laughs, especially when we see the child star wielding a shotgun. Emma Stone is also worthy of mention as the tough, protective older sister to Breslin. Stone continues her rise after catching my attention in 2007’s Superbad.

The film’s best performance is easily given by Woody Harrelson. As Tallahassee, a cowboy hat wearing Zombie killer, he steals every scene he is in. The actor, who hasn’t been in much recently, could be in the position for a career resurgence with Zombieland (trailer), as well as the upcoming Defendor. He doesn’t just play Tallahassee as a one note joke; we also see the reason behind his zombie hatred. I also thoroughly enjoyed Tallahassee’s search for what could be the world’s last box of Twinkies.

Zombieland is sure to be a crowd pleasing film for one reason – it’s an exciting time at the cinema. While the film’s amusement park climax doesn’t quite live up to the buildup it receives, and the plot is pretty thin, Zombieland’s running time is a brief 80 minutes, so it never overstays it welcome. I’m sure this will be a hit with movie goers; the audience I saw it with loved it. If you’re in the mood for some zombie splattering mayhem, go see Zombieland. You might be a pulse-less zombie if you don’t get a kick out of this film.