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Zombieland

****

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Rated: R

Showing: Liberty Theatre

Runtime: 87 minutes

Horror/comedy

America has been ravaged by a plague of zombies but a lone band of survivors are still fighting them off and trying to flee to safety.

They include Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a terrified geek who, like his namesake, is desperately seeking a new world - one free of the undead.

He is the weakest, most frightened person on the planet but this terror of being eaten is keeping him alive.

He has compiled a long list of rules for staying alive in Zombieland - and the reasons for following them are acted out in some graphically violent but hugely funny scenes.

Accompanying Columbus is Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a ferocious, AK-carrying zombie slayer whose mission is not to find an undead-free area but to track down every remaining twinkie on earth.

They join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), sisters who are trying to get to an amusement park they believe is zombie free.

Tagged "Nut up or shut up", Zombieland is an all-action and hilarious horror romp.

Harrelson was born to play the wise-cracking and temperamental Tallahassee, whose offensive but side-splitting one-liners are the highlights of the movie.

If you are offended by bad language, violence or gallons of blood, don't see this film.

The zombies are not the lumbering, walking undead of George Romero's classics such as Dawn Of The Dead but the swift and bloodthirsty hunters of 28 Days Later.

Thankfully, director Ruben Fleischer avoids most of the usual zombie clichés and has created a movie packed with originality and belly laughs.

Zombieland isn't as hilarious as the king of the zombie horror-comedy, Shaun Of The Dead, but it offers enough funny moments to win a big thumbs-up.

The cast all deliver flawless performances, especially Harrelson and Eisenberg, who is shaping up to be Hollywood's newest lord of the comedy geek after roles in Adventureland and The Squid And The Whale.

There is also a wonderful cameo from an A-list king of comedy playing himself.

Fans of zombie movies shouldn't miss this cracking addition to the genre.

Watch if you liked: Shaun Of The Dead, 28 Days Later.

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