Breaking The Rules

WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR REVIVING THE ZOMCOM-ACTIONER AFTER 10 YEARS AWAY? STARS WOODY HARRELSON, JESSE EISENBERG, ABIGAIL BRESLIN AND EMMA STONE TELL TOTAL FILM ABOUT REWRITING THE RULEBOOK FOR ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP.

- Richard Edwards

The first rule of zombie apocalypses is that they’re not supposed to be fun. You know the drill: an ever-shrinking gang of survivors wallows in the misery of their existence, as the shambling, brainless masses try to turn them into lunch. Supplies run out, shelters are lost and people get nasty in a largely humor free model that’s sustained 10 seasons (and counting) of The Walking Dead.

Back in 2009, however, Zombieland showed that things don’t have to be that way. This version of a zombie-infested America was different – and not just because its undead invaders were more 28 Days Later-style sprinters than Romeromodel lumberers.

Zombieland focused on four unlikely allies who named themselves after US cities, were surprisingly adept at slapping down the undead, occasionally got waylaid by a Twinkie addiction, and even got to hang out with the Bill Murray. Plus, in a Scream-like postmodern twist, the movie plastered the rules of survival over the screen, reminding us of the importance of wearing seatbelts, avoiding strip clubs, and tying double knots in our shoelaces to stay alive.

“I think that one of the real joys of this movie is that it’s not just a kind of grim, terrifying apocalyptic world,” Jesse Eisenberg, who’s back as the neurotic Columbus in Zombieland: Double Tap, tells Total Film. “The movie actually wonders what would happen in a world like this with characters that have a sense of humor, who are trying to entertain themselves within their unusual circumstances. There are no rules, there are no laws – there’s a terrible threat but otherwise, you’re kind of on your own. It creates all of these really fun scenes that make you think about what you’d do in this kind of situation.”