Zombieland is not just a bad movie… It’s a B-movie.
Some viewers are inclined to judge a movie on some specific standards to determine if it is good or bad. Also, a lot of us tend to like movies only if we think they are “good”. Have you ever thought a bad movie was actually pretty good? Some do.
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I saw Zombieland today in theatres and the reactions from the audience caught my ears. The public was not being too sympathetic towards the movie. I heard comments like “Why are we even watching such a bad movie?”. “What is this? It’s such an horrible movie”. Going out of the theatre, Druhval asked: “why do they waste so much money on making such films?” and Rabea sarcastically said: “They should pay us to watch these kinds of movies.”
The fact is, bad movies are actually part of a particular category. We usually classify them as what we commonly call B-movies. These have been existing since the 1930s, running aside of the mainstream film industry. Jacques Tourneur’s I walked with the zombies (1943), for example, is known as a classic of the B-movie horror genre. Recently, this film has been classified as the fifth best zombie movie of all times by Stylus Magazine. Another B-movie, the Rocky Horror Picture Show came as far as becoming cult. Over time, B-movies have become a craze among a large group of people.
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I would argue that Zombieland should not simply be perceived as a bad movie. It is, in fact, a typical zombie B-movie. The movie mocks the mainstream (hollywood) zombie-movie genre in a ridiculous way, the story is completly offbeat and it is all unpretentious. All the humour in it is supposed to be taken in a second degree.
I am not saying Zombieland is great and you should go watch it. I’m trying to explain why producers invested in such a movie. It doesn’t matter if the movie is judged to be horrible within the standard of the mainstream film industry. B-movies can’t be compared to A-movies. It’s like comparing a Rolls Royce and a Honda. They are in different leagues. There is a particularly different kind of interest for B-movies. Producers put their money in it because, nowadays, B-movies sell. As a matter of fact, within a week, Zombieland toped at the international box office. It has also already made a return on its investment.
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Despite all criticism that can be made about the movie (and i’m not mentioning it because that would bore you more than anything), Zombieland provokes a reflection on “movie taste” and the audiences.
I cannot recommend you to “go see it” nor can I tell you to “avoid loosing some money on it”. It is that kind of movie you will either love or hate.
Challenging Perceptions 