Zombieland

The foundation of “Zombieland”, along with the rest of the movie, is told through the perspective of Columbus (Eisenberg) through thoughtful narration. He tells us that a once peaceful society is now overrun by flesh eating cannibals with one goal, to tear you apart with their teeth and eat your flesh down to the bone. Columbus, whose name is masked the entire film after he was given this nickname by Tallahassee (Harrelson), believes, but hopes he is not, the only survivor in Zombieland. While on his way to Columbus to see if his parents are alive, he meets Tallahassee. Tallahassee is a tough and brutal zombie, hating individual with a very humorous and rambunctious personality. They decide to team up to help each other survive on the way to their destinations.
Zombieland is terrifically written and has a very nicely set up screenplay. We are established through effectively written dialogue telling us that the world has is overrun by viscous, flesh eating zombies. Only one thing left for the survivors of mankind is to survive and not be eaten. The inciting incident happens right from the beginning of the film. It is the explanation that zombies rule the world and there are potential survivors fighting for their lives. We are immediately thrown into the action.
Plot point one occurs when Columbus meets Tallahassee. At first they stand each other down at gunpoint, but quickly proceed to lower their guard and join forces. The two strong survivors embark on a mission to get their separate destinations. They later realize that where they are going is not somewhere they want to be, but rather they want to stick together.
While on a side quest to find a “Twinkie” for Tallahassee they encounter two other female survivors, Wichita and Little Rock. The first time they meet the girls con them into stealing their ride and weapons and leave them behind to defend themselves with nothing. Later on down the road they meet the girls once more, only to be fooled yet again. This time however, they stick together. The girls are on a mission to go to “Pacific Playland” in California where it is rumored there are no zombies. Plot point two occurs when Wichita tells Columbus that the place he is trying to get to, to find his parents, is a ghost town. This is the fact that causes Columbus and Tallahassee to travel to California with the girls. Their relationship builds throughout the film and they become very close. A love interest begins to form between Columbus and Wichita.
The climax of the film comes when they finally reach “Pacific Playland” after settling into a celebrity’s for a few days, the girls leave the guys one final time to travel on their own. Columbus, who has a very keen liking to Wichita, decides to go after her. He knows she will need to be saved and convinces Tallahassee to help him. Once the two men arrive at “Pacific Playland” they find it overrun by hordes of zombies trying to kill the two girls who are trapped on a ride. Columbus and Tallahassee kill all the zombies and save the girls to conclude the film. Columbus and Wichita kiss for the first time, and the four drive out of the amusement park to continue their journey for survival.

Written by: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick