History Film / Zombieland

* ShoutOut: Tallahassee plays a few notes of the Film/{{Deliverance}} music as bait for a redneck zombie, which he then dispatches with a cry of "You got a purty mouth!" Also, the Gas n' Gulp may be a reference to the iconic gas chain in ''The Simpsons''.

* AdultFear: It may be Zombieland, but there are still mundane fears.
** A great epidemic comes up, and you do your best to protect your child. The monologue opening features a mother being forced to abandon her daughter at a birthday party, and in the credits a father is pulling his exhausted son desperately during what's supposed to be a fun race. [[spoiler:Tallahassee tears up when he reveals that Buck wasn't his puppy but his son, and the zombies killed him.]]
** Columbus wants to go home to make sure his parents are okay. [[spoiler:He finds out the town was decimated and has a visible breakdown]].

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Sadly revealed to be the case with Tallahassee, as his young son, Buck, was lost to the zombies.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"My mama always told me someday, I'd be good at somethin'. Who'd'a guessed that would been zombie killin'?"'']]

Some zombie films strive to evoke the terror of endless hordes of ravenous unstoppable undead advancing upon helpless, hopeless victims. Some show an exploration of [[ZombieApocalypse the effects on civilization]] when TheVirus moves in. Some spend their time showing [[Film/DayOfTheDead1985 military forces overrun]] by an enemy they're unprepared for. Some are a metaphor for zombies as victims of a [[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 materialistic, consumerism-driven]] society that [[Series/DeadSet gorges itself on pop culture]] and [[Literature/{{CELL}} technology]] or are about [[Film/LandOfTheDead a divided capitalist society headed by greedy fat cats, where the poor are exploited]], or [[VideoGame/Left4Dead a desperate]] [[Franchise/ResidentEvil battle]] [[ComicBook/TheWalkingDead for]] [[Film/DawnOfTheDead2004 survival]]. Some are even about the [[Literature/WorldWarZ socio-political ramifications]] and [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater aftermath]] of a zombie outbreak. A few try to trace the [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead interpersonal problems]] [[Film/IAmLegend (or lack thereof)]] that can result from a zombie attack.

Released in 2009, ''Zombieland'' was directed by Creator/RubenFleischer and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who would later write ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' and the live-action adaptation of ''Film/Deadpool'') and stars Creator/JesseEisenberg, Creator/WoodyHarrelson, Creator/EmmaStone, and Creator/AbigailBreslin.

Released in 2009, ''Zombieland'' was directed by Creator/RubenFleischer and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and stars Creator/JesseEisenberg, Creator/WoodyHarrelson, Creator/EmmaStone, and Creator/AbigailBreslin.

* DoubleTap: Rule #2 on Columbus's list. Being stingy with ammo is not good for survival.

* TitleDrop: Early and often, as Colombus describes the United States as such.

It's the end of the world, so [[SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror you might as well have some fun]]. You've seen the movies, now you get to live the life. Load up on shotguns, ammo, sledgehammers and banjos, because this is Zombieland -- where your town is your name, where you must always beware of the bathroom, and where your biggest competition for Zombie Kill of the Week is a [[NeverMessWithGranny cheerful, cardigan-wearing nun]].

Released in 2009, ''Zombieland'' was directed by Creator/RubenFleischer and stars Creator/JesseEisenberg, Creator/WoodyHarrelson, Creator/EmmaStone, and Creator/AbigailBreslin.

A VR game inspired by 90s arcade shooters and racing games called ''VideoGame/ZombielandHeadshotFever'' was released in 2021.

* DistantPrologue: The gang arriving at the White House at the beginning of the movie is implied to take place at least four years before the rest of the movie, as evidenced by them celebrating Little Rocks 18th birthday while there.

** [[spoiler:As Creator/BillMurray had learned, trying to scare people ''with weapons'' is not going to end very well.]]

** Tallahassee is DualWielding chainsaws. This is to establish his CrazyAwesome credentials immediately. Similarly, Wichita is shown holding a bloody chainsaw in the movie poster.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Subverted. You ''think'' this is what Tallahassee is doing, but then you remember how CrazyAwesome he is]].

* TheJaywalkingDead: Tallahassee's EstablishingCharacterMoment has him speeding down the highway, giving the ToyotaTripwire to any zombies that get in his way. This establishes him as the kind of CrazyAwesome zombie hunter that a CrazyAwesome zombie story needs.

* AsHimself: Creator/BillMurray.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Crosses over with RealityEnsues below. Wichita's plan to turn on all the attractions at Pacific Playland so she and Little Rock can have some fun. The park itself may have been zombie-free, but the immediate-surrounding area wasn't, and the lights and noise attract hordes of zombies which Wichita and Little Rock can't hope to fight off alone. Sure enough, they eventually run out of ammunition, and they would have been killed or zombified had Columbus and Tallahassee not shown up.

* RealityEnsues:
** Columbus attempts to unlock his car at the beginning, drops his keys, so he runs another lap of the parking lot, gets back to the car, picks up the keys... and sees the car was already unlocked. Of course it was. There'd be no point in locking it during a ZombieApocalypse as it would cost precious seconds to unlock and could mean the difference between life and death (as Columbus almost demonstrated moments earlier) and there'd be far fewer people around to steal the vehicle.
** Wichita and Little Rock, thinking Pacific Playland is zombie-free, turn on all the lights and attractions. While the park itself may have been zombie-free, the immediate-surrounding area wasn't, and the lights and noise attract hordes of zombies which Wichita and Little Rock can't hope to fight off alone. It's a good thing Columbus and Tallahassee decided to go after them, otherwise Wichita and Little Rock would have either been killed or zombified.
** [[spoiler:As Creator/BillMurray had learned, trying to scare people ''with weapons'' is not going to end very well.]]

** Nobody in the movie goes by their real name except for [[spoiler:Bill Murray]] and Sister Cynthia Knickerbocker, which we can assume is her name because no one would ''choose'' to go by that.

* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: "Don't swing! Don't swing!... Swing!" Columbus is saying this to Tallahassee in the grocery store while being chased by a fat zombie, while Tallahassee prepares to whack it with a baseball bat.

* WhamLine: When Tallahassee reminisces about his lost puppy Buck, he says that [[spoiler:Buck had every one of his characteristics...''including his laugh''. Columbus is confused, but then realizes -- alongside the audience through a series of {{Wham Shot}}s [[OnceMoreWithClarity re-showing a sequence of scenes with Tallahassee and his dog, except the dog is replaced with a young boy]] -- that Buck wasn't his puppy, [[TearJerker but his son]].]]

** [[spoiler:As Bill Murray had learned, trying to prank people ''with weapons'' by scaring them is not going to end very well.]]

** [[spoiler:As Bill Murray had learned, pretending to be a zombie in order to scare people with ''weapons'' is not going to end very well.]]

Has no relation to the [[SimilarlyNamedWorks similarly named]] anime series ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'', although the makers of that anime are aware of the similar name and [[https://youtu.be/EdDFMGqVeJ8 eventually cross-promoted]] this movie's sequel.

* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Subverted. It's bad enough that Columbus shot a box of what is possibly the final box of Twinkies in the world right in front of Tallahassee, but immediately after that, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Wichita and Little Rock drive away in their Cadillac!]] [[RunningGag Again!]] [[JerkAss AFTER THEY WERE SAVED BY THEM!]] But they were just kidding. [[ThrowTheDogABone They even throw him a Twinkie]]]].

** [[spoiler:As Bill Murray had learned, pretending to be a zombie in order to scare people -- especially those with ''weapons'' -- is going to backfire horribly.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Crosses over with RealityEnsues below. Wichita's plan to turn on all the attractions at Pacific Playland so she and Little Rock can have some fun. The park itself may have been zombie-free, but the immediate-surrounding area wasn't, and the lights and noise attract hordes of zombies which Wichita and Little Rock can't hope to fight off alone. Sure enough, they eventually run out of ammunition, and they would have been killed had Columbus and Tallahassee not shown up.

* DualWielding: Tallahassee. ''[[ChainsawGood Chainsaws!]]'' Sadly not seen in use. He also carries two shotguns later in the film, though he only uses one at a time. [[spoiler:He uses two pistols during his last stand at the end of the flick]].

* ItCanThink: The zombies are shown to have developed some amount of brainpower. The cop zombie in the intro pretends to be ''dead'' dead after getting shot by a woman, another zombie also from the intro crawls underneath a bathroom stall, and they appear to be capable of climbing over obstacles as demonstrated when a horde of them head towards the carnival.