Zombie comedy works

script and nothing that feels expository or on-the-nose. It is a slick piece of scripting with no forced jokes and all the obligatory pop culture references are as sharp and precise as they could possibly be. The only gags that fall a little flat are the ones that were in the trailers, like the introduction of Flagstaff and Albuquerque, Columbus and Tallahassee’s doppelgangers, which was not the great reveal it could have been because they played that hand too early. But the gags and scenes that follow their introduction more than make up for this.

They even hang a lantern on the seemingly endless supply of mains electricity 10 years after a global cataclysm — it makes a weird kind of sense, even though it’s a joke.

The new characters are wonderfully written and acted, including Rosario Dawson as tough-as-nails Nevada and Zoey Deutch as the dippy but undeniably adorable Madison.

A couple of things did niggle, though. Like the way survivors seem to simply hole up in regular buildings with virtually no fortifications, zombies apparently just not bothering to look inside houses even when they’re surrounded by neon lighting. And because of the way this movie had to upscale its zombie numbers on screen, there are a lot more CGI zombies here than in the first movie, which takes away some of the fun.

While this isn’t quite the surprise the first movie was, it certainly knows what it is and it does its job very well. I laughed from start to finish. And if I may add one more rule to Columbus’ list: #74: Always watch the credits.