Zombieland: Shaun of the Dead's American cousin isn't as satirical or gory, but it's equally freewheeling and goofy. Due to the 2000's explosion of zombie films, there isn't much left to do with the genre, and Zombieland certainly treads on familiar ground both as a horror film and a buddy comedy. Even Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are playing archetypes they're more than familiar with. Fortunately, they're really good at it. And although at first blush the film falls into all of the wish-fulfilment traps of recent post-apocalyptic zombie horror, that isn't quite the case. Whereas Shaun of the Dead posited that any slacker could rise against the undead hordes, Zombieland's protagonists are a neurotic loner, a slightly psychotic good ol' boy, and two con artists.
Drag Me To Hell: Sam Raimi cut his teeth on ultraviolent horror movies before moving on to direct the Spider-Man series. He allowed himself a brief indulgence during Spider-Man 2, but steered clear of the genre until this past summer. I haven't seen Raimi's Evil Dead films, but it's clear that he still has a flair for dark humor, paranormal intrigue, and gross-out scares (I can't credit him for Christopher Young's score, but it's also exceptional). If I had to make a list right now of the five best scenes involving bad things happening to a cat, Drag Me to Hell would have two spots. Too bad the ending is so telegraphed that the final 15 minutes are virtually suspense-free, thereby taking the punch out of the whole movie.
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