Directed by Zack Snyder, and still taking place in a shopping mall as the zombies start to make their presence felt throughout the world, there is a definite shift over thirty years.  Where the first film left you to do a bit more interpreting, and was a bit more on the psychological side, this one is a bit more a sign of the times, and gives you a lot more action to work with while you watch the affect of being cooped up as the world crumbles.

From the very start, I was riveted as the infection starts to spread, and the survivors start to gather at the shopping mall, cautiously letting in one person after another.  As the movie unfolds, they are able to both secure the mall of the remaining zombies and secure it from new zombies coming into their kingdom.

While this isn’t fine art by any means, it becomes clear that there is going to be a problem, and the arrival of that problem will come sooner or later.  As the world outside the walls of their safe haven becomes darker and darker, eventually the mall may very well be the only outpost left.  At that point, they will have to face the fact that the supplies that they have – abundant as they may be – will eventually give out, and even the never-ending suppy of power will eventually fade as well.

The end is hurried by the emergence of another apparent survivor, just across the parking lot from them, and while it is fun at first to shoot zombies in the lot that look like celebrities, eventually this game tires as his supplies run out, so they try and save him – but this of course results in tragedy, as well as the virus getting inside their little paradise.  Plans are made to move before they have no strength at all, but even that seems to be sheer folly.

All-in-all, this is one of my favorite zombie movies not so much because it involves a lot of zombies, but because the characters are believable and interact well.  The action is good, but not overwhelming.  It’s just a good, solid movie, and even the effects are good.  They don’t always have to be over-the-top to make you believe.  Just a good story will do that every time.  Perhaps in thirty years, it will seem as dated as the original, but for now, it seems that it will stand the test of time well.

Rated R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality.

Add to that the fact that his job is rather demanding, and even when he does get to see his son, such as on Christmas Eve, he’s usually running late, and his son doesn’t always want to see him, so things just aren’t going very well. All that is about to change.

To his credit, Scott finds that the turkey will take four hours to cook, but he tries it anyway – this despite the fact that he comes home after dark, which means it’s got to be pretty late when he starts cooking the bird. Perhaps this explains why he might turn up the heat to get it to cook faster, and why the flames are coming from the oven, and why they end up heading to Denny’s for Christmas Dinner. Needless to say, Scott’s son isn’t year happy with the way things are going.

But later that night, as Scott finally gets Charlie to go to sleep, they hear a clatter on the roof, and Scott heads outside just in time to find someone up there. As luck would have it, Scott startles him and the guy falls all the way from the roof and into the snowbank. It’s Santa! While Charlie is excited to see Santa, he rapidly decides that he’s not happy that his dad killed Santa. But when they find a ladder in the yard (from the Rose Suchak ladder company – say it out loud), Charlie heads to the roof to find the reindeer waiting, and Scott has no choice but to follow. Before long, Scott is donning Santa’s suit and delivering the rest of the presents in the houses of strangers.

When Scott tells the reindeer to head home, they don’t go back to the house, but instead they end up at the North Pole, in Santa’s workshop, and it seems that Scott Calvin has fallen prey to the Santa Clause – a clause on the card that say by donning the suit of Santa Claus (no “e”) and getting into the sleigh, he has become the new Santa. This does not make Scott happy, by Charlie is ecstatic.

The next morning, Charlie is ready to tell everyone that his dad is Santa Claus and they went to the North Pole – this means his mom isn’t happy. Even Scott isn’t happy, because he has less than a year to get his affairs in order and return to the North Pole to take over his new position. As that date nears, his body starts to change. He gains weight, he likes to eat only sweets and his hair turns gray. He can’t even keep a clean face, as when he shaves his beard grows back immediately.

Perhaps the worst part about it is that Charlie’s mom decides that Scott, in changing his physical appearance, is trying to win back Charlie, and she takes away his visitation privileges entirely. Scott has reached a new low, and he doesn’t even want to be Santa.

Finally, when Thanksgiving rolls around, he goes to visit Charlie, and that’s when Charlie gives him the greatest gift of all – he says that he believes in him as Santa, and in an odd turn (because it seems to be supporting kidnapping), Scott takes Charlie to the North Pole to help prepare for Christmas. Charlie’s mom, needless to say, is in a bit of a panic. Naturally everything turns out, and while I can understand what they were going for, that was just an odd move to make.

Still, it’s an enjoyable movie, and one that can be a regular part of the holiday season.

Rated PG, mostly for some suggestive material.