After a 10 yr hiatus, a failed tv show, and lots of oscar awards and nominations from each cast member, Zombieland has returned directed again by Ruben Fleischer and stars the original cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin as the makeshift family of Columbus, Witchita, Tallahassee and Little Rock. 10 years have passed since last seeing the group, and now that they have all adjusted to Zombie-life, they are now starting to settle down as a family. This thought of a boring normal life and the fear of not being able to grow causes the girls to run away. It’s not until Little Rock decides to leave her sister for a new boy found during their travels that Witchita needs the help of Tallahassee and Columbus to find her sister hopefully before the onslaught of a new form of Zombies finds her.

With almost every comedy that attempts to continue their story 10 years down the road completely butchering their sequels, I was very nervous walking into Zombieland 2. Not only was this cult classic one of my favorite out of the box and fun genre-bending films out there, but al of the returning cast has gone very far in their careers, and I feared they would either be uninterested or unable to really capture the same feeling that the first film had. Not only was this a much needed and fun break from the onslaught of Zombie content out today, but ‘Double Tap’ is able to capture the magic of the original while bringing in new characters and stories to keep it fresh and new.

First off I have to talk about how impressive it was for them to nail a sequel 10 yrs after. I loved that this film started off showing out characters the same we always knew them as but growing into a new form that makes sense and stays true to the original. All the performances in the film were excellent from the original cast. They all connect and have really dynamic chemistry. The main storyline revolving around Abigail Breslin’s character was well done, and the b story between Stone and Eisenberg was sewn into the main plot really well. New characters are introduced in the form of a ditsy ‘Mean Girls’ inspired character Madison played by Zoey Deutch. I loved the character of MAdison I feel there was a lot of charisma and humor from Deutch and was really impressed with her performance. Another new character in the form of a badass love interest/Elvis Enthusiast is Nevada played by Rosario Dawson. I feel while underused, she was placed in some of the best moments of the film and that may be due in part to her amazing chemistry with Woody Harrelson. and one of the best doppelganger moments by Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch who are the exact copies of Columbus and Tallahassee. The scenes with all of these characters together that takes place towards the end of the 2nd act are some of the best parts of the film.

You can jump right into this movie without having to recap the first film but if you do end up doing a quick Zombieland catch up, you will be greatly rewarded by the film. The story and characters still feel fresh and funny, and there is yet again another cameo that might even top their iconic cameo in the first film. Perhaps the plot can feel a bit bloated at times, but it doesn’t stop Zombieland: Double Tap from being one of the best comedies of the year and a Halloween MUST for this week.

I’m giving Zombieland: Double Tap an 8.5/10