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Parents' Guide to

Zombieland: Double Tap

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Cheerfully vulgar, gory sequel lives up to the original.

Movie R 2019 93 minutes
Zombieland: Double Tap Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 21 parent reviews

thecoolguy
thecoolguy Adult
September 24, 2022
age 14+

R13 is a good rating, its gory and crude but nothing a teen cant handle

17+ is too high! i live in nz where this movie was given the cinema rating R13, which is alao the rating on the nz netflix. i think its just right, the movie does have mature adult themes, but any kid in a piblic school would know worse things. there is graphic violence with blood everytime a zombie is shot(similar to stranger things gore prob less). the most goriest scene is when tallahasse(woody harlseon) steps on a zombies head and it explodes, but 14 year olds can handle that gore . theres barely any sex except for a few refrences to "group sex". a girl smokes weed, but any teen would understand the concept of drugs. swearing is high, but any teen who goes to a public school has heard thesse words,( words like "f--k, hell, s--t, ass, c--ksucking motherf--k and bastard). so there it is.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
BlitzGuy20
BlitzGuy20 Parent of 8-year-old
June 30, 2021
age 14+

Funnier, but small sequel has gory violence, strong language

Zombieland: Double Tap is a direct sequel to Zombieland (2009) a dark comedy about the apocalypse. In this sequel, through you can expect heavier violence and language. VIOLENCE: Infrequent, but gory and graphic zombie violence throughout with includes graphic shootings, bludgeoning, a zombie graphically has his head crushed, zombies are cut down with axes, sharp objects, exploded and much more showing a large amount of detail, gore and blood. This appears infrequently, though, when compared to the first film. LANGUAGE: Around 48 uses of “f*ck” including “motherf*ck”, use of “sh*t”, “c*cksucking”, “b*tch” several uses of the middle finger. SEXUAL CONTENT: A sex scene that shows a man and a woman making out in bed, the woman gets on top of him into a position before the camera pans away onto a picture which rumbles, then we hear loud moaning and banging from outside the room. The sex is referenced numerous times afterwards. Mild sexual innuendo throughout. DRUG CONTENT: Weed is shown in pots, being smoked in some scenes. Marijuana leaves are shown numerous times. Some smoking and drinking. OVERALL: 14+

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 21 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, it's 10 years after the events of Zombieland, and the core foursome -- Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) -- has settled down in the White House. Columbus tries to take his relationship with Wichita to the next level and proposes, causing her to panic. Little Rock, meanwhile, feels stirrings of wanting to be on her own. So the sisters decide to leave. A month later, a distraught Columbus meets the pink-clad Madison (Zoey Deutch) in an empty mall and invites her back to the house, just as Wichita returns. Wichita explains that her sister has run off with a hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia) with no weapons and that a new strain of more intelligent, resilient zombies has evolved. It's time to hit the road again to save her; this time, their destination is Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (21 ):
Kids say (34 ):

A happy companion rather than an inferior imitation, this is the rare sequel that feels as fresh and surprising -- and as funny -- as the original. Zombieland: Double Tap starts out on the right (rotting) foot with Eisenberg updating viewers via jokey yet informative narration, accompanied by a dazzlingly gory slow-motion title sequence. The characters are at ease together, making sly jabs at one another and casually referencing the decade that's gone by since Zombieland. But it's more than just references and in-jokes; the players seem excited and refreshed to be here.

Zombieland: Double Tap relies heavily on Elvis Presley references (including an Elvis-themed hotel run by Rosario Dawson's Nevada), on a specific supporting character from the first movie, and on a pair of characters who hilariously mirror Tallahassee and Columbus. There's also a hippie commune called Babylon, named not for the great ancient city but for the 1999 David Gray song. The jokes are funny, and the zombie attacks are thrillingly kinetic and bloody, but the real key to the movie's success is its warmth and its dedication to this ill-fitting but loving, lovable family. It's weirdly reminiscent of another successful R-rated comedy sequel about a surrogate family, Deadpool 2; the characters' most irritating little foibles turn out to become their greatest strengths.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Zombieland: Double Tap's violence. Can a film mix brutal violence and comedy? Horror and humor? How does the comedic tone affect the impact of the violence?

  • How is sex depicted? What values are imparted?

  • What's the appeal of zombie movies? Are zombies scary? Do they represent other aspects of life today?

  • How does this sequel compare to the original? Why do you think sequels get made?

  • The characters demonstrate strong teamwork. Is it possible for a mature, violent horror movie to impart other positive examples of character strengths?

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