Director
Ruben Fleischer
Leading Actors/Actresses
Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Genre
Zombie comedy
Language
English
Awards
Scream Awards Winner for Best Horror Movie and Best Cameo. Golden Schmoes Winner for Best Horror Movie of the Year and Most Memorable Scene of the Year (Bill Murray Cameo)
Date of Release
September 25, 2009
Producer
Gavin Polone
Setting and Context
Present-day America in a zombie apocalypse
Narrator and Point of View
Columbus narrates the plot from a first-person point of view.
Tone and Mood
Grim, Humorous, Macabre, Offbeat
Protagonist and Antagonist
Columbus is the protagonist while the zombies are the antagonists.
Major Conflict
A zombie apocalypse has befallen the United States and the survivors have to find ways to survive attacks from zombies and humans alike. The paths of the main characters cross and the major conflict emanates from their incongruities yet they also have to assist each other survive.
Climax
The climax occurs when Wichita and Little Rock depart from the group for Pacific Playland and end up trapped in the park by a horde of zombies.
Foreshadowing
The rules of survival are a running gag in the film with each rule foreshadowing the outcome of a subsequent confrontation with zombies.
Understatement
The second rule ‘Double tap’ is an understatement in itself as it involves two violent gunshots against the attacking zombie.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
The visual effects for the rules of survival stand out throughout the film for they offer a three-dimensional feel similar to a videogame. Henceforth illustrates the film as a sort of game of survival with cues to the audience in case of a zombie apocalypse.
Allusions
The film is self-referential in nature as it alludes to its genre and other films that entail the same subject matter, a zombie apocalypse. It has several pop-cultural allusions particularly the zombie culture and clichés in the entertainment industry in general.
Paradox
“I’ve never hit a kid before. I mean, that’s like asking who Gandhi is.”
This statement is paradoxical since Tallahassee retorts to Little Rock not knowing who Bill Murray is yet she also does not know Gandhi too.
Parallelism
The film parallels Columbus and Tallahassee through their opposing life philosophies and approaches to survival, which create an unlikely but workable duo.
