Woody Harrelson looks to knock the undead out of the planet in 'Zombieland'

From the super slow-mo action shots of blood-belching zombies terrorizing stunned humans during the opening credits to a finale that includes Woody Harrelson riding a roller coaster while picking off undead targets with glee, “Zombieland” provides ridiculous laughs, memorable characters, graphic zombie annihilation and even a few clever comic moments.

Finally, a zombie-based comedy can justifiably stand next to “Shaun of the Dead.”

The first seconds of the film drop the audience right into the action. We meet Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg “Adventureland”), who immediately introduces viewers to his list of rules for survival, guidelines of which are refreshed visually and audibly every five minutes throughout the movie. And those rules have worked out pretty well for him, considering Columbus is a skinny geek with enough phobias to make Monk look like John McClane in “Die Hard.”

During his travels, Columbus encounters Tallahassee (Harrelson), a Southern shotgun-wielding zombie murder artist driving a big, black Cadillac Escalade, and he realizes he has a better a chance of survival sticking with him — even though they are polar opposites.

There isn’t a complex story here. Columbus wants to get to Ohio to see if his parents are still alive, and Tallahassee is merely determined to find just one little single, solitary Twinkie (yes, the Hostess snack). But their plans take a detour when sisters Wichita (Emma Stone, “Superbad”) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”) hijack their ride and take the boys along on a voyage to a California amusement park.

Just like the Griswalds, they find it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

All of the characters play their roles perfectly. Harrelson is there to deliver tough guy one-liners. Eisenberg is the nervous kid who’s in over his head and makes quirky observations. Stone is Eisenberg’s sassy, sarcastic love interest, and Breslin gives the film a little bit of a cute factor.

They all bring a sense of depth to a movie that has a blast killing zombies in very creative ways. If you were thinking about taking the kids to this one, please don’t. “Zombieland” could have received an ‘R’ rating based on gore alone, despite Woody’s F-bombs and undead showgirls running in slow motion.

But those of you who do check out “Zombieland” will be treated to the best celebrity cameo I’ve seen in years. I won’t say who it is, but trust me, it’s better than Mike Tyson in “The Hangover,” Leonard Nimoy in “Star Trek” or Tom Cruise in “Tropic Thunder.” The special cameo boosts “Zombieland” to the ranks of the year’s funniest films.

While “Zombieland” isn’t as witty as “Shaun of the Dead,” it’s certainly just as noteworthy.