Zombieland is the sort of horror movie that reckons if you can't be scary, you might as well be fun. Save for a few exceptions, the undead haven't inspired much fear since they shuffled en masse in Dawn of the Dead (the '70s version, for you whipper-snappers). So rather than hoist another by-the-numbers chiller upon moviegoers, the gleefully demented folks behind Zombieland have chosen to live it up a little. This rousing "zom-com" earns more mileage out of seeing how people get by in a land of the dead instead of focusing on the ghouls themselves -- though there are enough spatters of splatter to get any gorehound giddy.

The festivities begin as mankind is in the thick of a worldwide zombie epidemic. After a couple of months, most of the planet has become devoid of human life, aside from a handful of unlikely survivors. Our hero is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a craven coward who's managed to elude consumption thanks to a strict list of rules. He eventually crosses paths with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), whose "take no prisoners" attitude has made him a bona fide zombie exterminator. The reluctant duo hits the road, where they encounter two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) whose chicanery hasn't been hampered by the living dead. Together, the foursome venture out to a fabled amusement park said to be a safe zone for humans, though with a nation full of the undead ahead of them, getting there is easier said than done.

Vital to Zombieland's success is its ability to stay on the safe side of self-awareness. A few too many winks and nudges to horror fans would've sunk it, but Zombieland stays afloat with little effort. For one, it assumes you've seen your fair share of zombie flicks, as it wastes no time doing a swan dive right into the carnage. In lieu of rattling off references a la Meet the Spartans, it takes on the genre as a whole, exploiting its most recognizable conventions for comedic effect over scares. First-time director Ruben Fleischer executes all this without the slightest hint of smugness; he's right there joshing alongside his audience instead of talking down to them. It's this devil-may-care demeanor, which laces the film with heavy metal and gore galore, that enables him to give viewers pretty much exactly what they want out of a flick like this.

The only cross word I can say against Zombieland is that it's not wild enough. The filmmakers certainly show enough spirit, especially in a climax involving theme park rides being used to take down hordes of the living impaired. But there's a little too much stop-and-go pacing; just when the movie gets you in the mood for mayhem, it sort of stops to smell the roses for a bit. I was probably expecting insanity more akin to Shoot 'Em Up, which sets out with all guns blazing and not once looks back. But the proceedings work here. Eisenberg and Harrelson make for great polar opposites: a neurotic trigger-happy wreck whose ways keep them from becoming zombie chow day after day. Breslin and the stunning Stone are also very good, the former trading in her Little Miss Sunshine image for a handy 12-gauge.

Zombieland has been called a spiritual successor to Shaun of the Dead, which isn't too far off the mark. The latter's sense of humor seems much more wry, but its cousin shares a similar snarkiness which allows it to simultaneously lampoon and celebrate its roots. After a year of enduring bummer after bummer, I'm relieved that Zombieland gives those with a hunger for horror a reason to bolt to their nearest multiplex.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "R" for horror violence/gore and language.)