TV • PAGE 27
THE BULLETIN • OCTOBER 21 - 27, 2021
BY JAY BOBBIN
Some notable names return to
‘Zombieland’
If there was going to be a sequel to “Zombieland” 10 years later, the Halloween period certainly was the
season for it.
Though 2019’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” (which FX presents Thursday, Oct. 28) has a definite feel of “been
there, done that” – not only thanks to its own forerunner, but also to numerous other tales of survivors fighting
the undead – there’s still fun in seeing such “A-list” stars as Oscar winner Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg being
willing to return to the genre, considering how much else they accomplished in vastly different kinds of projects
after the first “Zombieland.”
Along with fellow returnees Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin, their characters’ situation remains just what
it was. They’re certainly more experienced in vanquishing zombies, but they’re still crossing a ravaged America
after finding temporary shelter in (of all places) the White House.
As they take their quest back on the road, they encounter characters played Rosario Dawson and Zoey
Deutch. The daughter of actress Lea Thompson and filmmaker Howard Deutch (“Pretty in Pink”), Deutch is
especially good here, getting plenty of mileage out of applying what she’s established as her offbeat sensibility to
the now-quite-familiar scenario of a zombie invasion.
Still, that’s not to dismiss others whose connection to “Zombieland” franchise has been long established. After
her notable turns in “La La Land” (which brought her an Academy Award) and “The Favourite,” to name just
two, Stone is marvelously game to play tough again as she takes on otherworldly opponents once more.
Perhaps the distance doesn’t seem as great for Eisenberg and Harrelson, who frequently play characters on the
edge, but they enjoyably keep their “Zombieland”
“Zombieland: Double Tap”
mojo here. And Breslin carries with her the
experience she’s gotten from being in other horror
tales.
One has to figure they all had a good time
together the first time around, since reassembling
a central cast in full after a decade isn’t necessarily
a simple proposition. To use Stone as an example,
opportunities had to have been plentiful for her, so
for her to say “yes” to “Zombieland” again says a lot.
The original director and writers also returned,
which gave “Zombieland: Double Tap” a nice sense
of creative continuity even after so long. Those who
know the first film aren’t necessarily in for a lot of
surprises here, but if you’re going to fight the undead,
it doesn’t hurt to have familiar allies to do that with.
Solution on page 18