It's Only A Gameshow, Right? Well, we should start looking into "Gameshows" a bit more, judging by this one. We aren't told much about this film other than the fact that these teenagers go to a cabin in the woods for a little break. However, for some reason these kids are dying and it all seems to be a little big brother-ish with them being the "puppets" and these cosy other people who are watching them being the puppeteers.
Chris Helmsworth from Home and Away or who you might remember him, donning a rich red cape (no not superman) as Thor, is one of the lead characters in this film. I'd rather not go into it too much because, although you might think of Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake, this film is nothing like this at all. Other than the hack and slash elements to it. Oh, and the woods. Oh, and the lake. But I'd strongly recommend to watch the trailer to get an idea as I don't want to give it away, but there are strange things afoot with this film and not everything is what it seems, especially with the little twist at the end. This film is very different and for me, has a sort of Wes Craveny feel to it. Shocking, horrific, terrifying, but also manages to sneak in very humourous and witty parts into it. I might be getting old, but I spent quite a bit of time covering my mouth. Not yawning, but due to shock. Other times, I was laughing. Make sure you go to see this as I left the cinema thinking, "That was a really good film - very different".
Unless you don't like ...Gosh, I almost did a spoiler. Ok, lets just say, this film may scare/scar you. Watch in very safe hands to hold and huge shoulders to cry your eyes out in.
Dependent on your humour, this film is quite possibly one of the funniest films you would see this year! This film stars the same actors from 'Shaun of the Dead' Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
The films main hero is a Police Officer called Nicholas Angel from the London Met who is a Police officer who is well and truely, DEDICATED!!!! He is the kind of officer who pulls out all stops and goes that extra mile. Nicholas Angel is so good at his job and dedicated, his police department "promotes" him to another town in england because he makes them look bad. This town is called Sandford, where the "crime" rate is so high, that they need a police officer like him to clear it up and bring peace back to the town. The town needs an officer like Nicholas Angel to teach their officers how to take care of situations. The town seems 'crime-less' and is so small in comparison to London, that everyone knows everyone who is anyone and who is sleeping with who, what for and why. It is a town so small that, crime, doesn't actually happen and if it does, it is an accident or are several otherwise unnoticeable crimes and misdemeanors, in short order (such as shoplifters, underage drinkers and a farmer storing a huge supply of illegal weapons in his barn). Also, being partnered with a well-meaning but overeager and naive police constable Daniel "Danny" Butterman, the son of the local police chief Inspector Frank Butterman, and a committed action movie fan, things don't half get better for Nicholas Angel. And with the thoughts that Danny believes that his new big-city partner, Nicholas Angel, might just be a real-life policing bad boy, just like Bad Boys the film, with Car Chases and guns blazing, Danny is over the moon to be his partner and is itching to buss a cap in someone's.....you get the point.
Grisly "accidents" soon start to occur and are then linked to a hooded figure. Who is this figure? Why is the town so closed-circuit? and why is it that, Simon "Sissy" Skinner, the charming but sinister manager of the local Somerfield supermarket, always seem to be around the crime scene with something smart to say? Angel suspects him of murdering the victims due to their involvement in a lucrative property deal, but that doesn't go down very well with the town's people and having already clashed with all members of his police force, things aren't going down to well for Nicholas Angel as he is already in a town where nobody likes him along with finding the town difficult to adjust to. However, despite all this, Nicholas is the only one who can bring an end to all the chaos that is going on in the town.
This film is funny. There is hand to hand combat, guns, car chases, secrets, lies and all sorts of craziness to make you think, 'shut up, man had that in his barn?'. When the action came, it was decently paced, realistic (to an extent) and most of all, was hilarious.
Before this review, I was trying to figure out where I was going to go with it. Yes, the review would be about the film, Zombieland, but as different as the name is, the film fits right in.
Zombieland has no real direction, no real storyline and no real plot. As I think about it, the film has no beginning, nor end. So one would think to himself, 'So, what was the film about?' and the answer to that question is, Zombies. With all that been said, you'd think this was a waste of time film. Something that didn't quite set out to fulfil it's objective and you wouldn't want to waste your money on the film. But your wrong. Although I have seen computer games such as 'Left 4 Dead' and 'Left 4 Dead 2' with also, not much of a storyline (or detailed one for that matter), the game appears to have more of a storyline than this film, but the film still triumphs as being a really good watch. I'll explain. There is a pandemic. We see a post-apocalyptic America, where a zombie apocalypse has been triggered by a virulent form of human adapted mad cow disease. It appears there are only a few survivors. Columbus is a college student on his way to Columbus, Ohio to see if his parents are still alive. Along the way, he bumps into Tallahasse who hails from Tallahasse, Florida (or is going there, I kinda missed that part), who is on a mission to find a Twinkie. They team-up and travel together to only bump into two sisters, Little Rock & Wichita. As you must can tell, these are not real names. There isn't any real names in this film, only places that relates to the characters. The idea is, if someone dies, not knowing their real names means that you are not attached to that person. So in essence, if someone dies, it's an 'Ah well, that sucks. Lets keep it moving' type of attitude. (Liberties - You know, right?) These two sisters con their way into stealing Tallahasse's vehicle and leave the two guys stranded only to be found later on, on their travels attempting to con another passer-by of their vehicle as the girl's vehicle has broken down. As Columbus calls a truce, they all travel together, go to a mansion to crash and hangout only to then have their vehicle stolen by the girls again in the morning who are on their way to Pacific Playland (a theme park). I guess they were considering they will have it all to themselves, no queues and no people. But it would turn out that they did have Pacific Playland to themselves and there were no queues and no people who were alive, that is. As they turn on the lights to the theme park, it attracts all the zombies near by who then start chasing them. Columbus, now having feelings for Wichita (obviously, the place names didn't work), goes after her to express his feelings for her only to be confronted with a theme park full of zombies. I guess, everyone is a hero, right?
As I've said quite a bit about the film but left a lot of it out, you must can tell that the film is a bit 'crazy' in places. For example, Columbus has a set of rules that are comprised of ways to stay alive in-case of a Zombie Apocalypse is to ever occur. This is the central plot theme and are seen as on going gags throughout the entire film. The list starts at number 1 but doesn't actually have an ending number, but goes up to and possibly past 33. however, not all the numbers from the list are mentioned in the film.
This film is witty and very funny. You may need to see it twice because of Columbus' rules and because of the craziness and hidden jokes that lie within it, but all in all, it is a fun and enjoyable watch. As there could be plans to do a sequel, they may expand on Columbus' list, but keeping the formula of, comedy, blood and guts, it is sure to be a winner. If you liked Shaun Of The Dead, then you will love this. As they are similar, I can't see why you wouldn't still have a good laugh. Go Watch it!
