Directed by Ruben Fleischer. Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray 16 cert, gen release, 80 min

Zombielandis an enjoyably scattershot comedy for gorehounds, writes DONALD CLARKE

YES, IT'S A comedy set in a world overrun by zombies. Considering the continuing popularity of Shaun of the Dead,and remembering that George Romero's original Deadfilms were already layered with comic moments, the public has a right to demand that the makers of Zombielanddevise a selling point that is very, very unique indeed.

Their scheme, as it turns out, is to blend horror with mainstream faux-indie. It's Little Miss Sunshinewith decapitations. It's The Squid and the Whalewith post-apocalyptic overtones. To solidify the pitch, Sunshine's Abigail Breslin and Squid's Jesse Eisenberg play two refugees who, in true mainstream faux-indie style, form an unconventional, informal family group while fleeing carnivorous former humans. Bill Murray, elder statesman of the genre, also turns up to grant an imprimatur.

To be fair, without ever risking incandescence, Zombielandworks pretty well. Effecting another slight variation on the uptight nerd he tweaked in the recent Adventureland, Eisenberg shuffles out as young chap with bowel problems who, to enable survival in hostile territory, has dreamt

up a series of firm personal guidelines: always check the back seat, always deliver a second shot to the head, and so forth.

Linking up with the sort of gun-toting, good old half-wit who could only be played by Woody Harrelson, our hero sets off for Columbus, Ohio where, he hopes, his family still live as members of our species. Along the way, Woody and Jesse meet a pair of young hustlers (Breslin and Emma Stone) and, after squabbles and double crosses, set about forming that unlikely quasi-family.

Uniformly well-acted and shot with zippy clarity, Zombielandis at its best when at its most stupid. Never achieving the pace of Shaunor the droll pessimism of Romero's films (well, d'uh), Ruben Fleischer's debut still finds new and amusing ways to sever limbs and infect the innocent.

Unfortunately, the picture seriously loses its way in those tranquil moments – a talky middle act in particular – where the urge to make a Proper Film gets in the way of the bloody mayhem. Nobody goes to a film called Zombielandexpecting too much poignant bonding.

Still, kudos to the film-makers for finding unmapped territory beside a much-travelled road.