Zombieland (soundtrack)

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Zombieland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Zombieland (soundtrack).jpg
Film score by
ReleasedOctober 6, 2009
Recorded2008–2009
Genre Film score
Length46:27
Label Relativity Music Group
Producer David Sardy
David Sardy chronology
21
(2008)
Zombieland
(2009)
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
(2011)

Zombieland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2009 film Zombieland directed by Ruben Fleischer, starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Bill Murray. The film score was composed by David Sardy and released through Relativity Music Group on October 6, 2009.

Contents

Background

The film score is composed by Brooklyn-based composer-producer David Sardy in his maiden collaboration with Fleischer. [1] He recruited him due to his hard rock and heavy metal production background and wanted it to be different from traditional film score compositions. The score had a western influence, most probably of Ennio Morricone's music for spaghetti western drama while also having metal music influences ranging from thrash metal, death metal and grindcore. [2]

Fleischer, who was a big fan of heavy metal music and envisioned the final showdown to be filled with bands like Slayer, Death Deicide, Terrorizer, Bolt Thrower and Carcass. But the production team assuming that these songs would come cheaper and instead focused on purchasing the rights to more mainstream songs. But it turned out that the metal songs were most expensive to acquire. Hence, Fleischer forfeited those plans and insisted Sardy to compose a metal score in the climactic sequence. [1]

Release

The soundtrack was released on October 6, 2009, four days after the film's release, by Relativity Music Group. [3]

Track listing

All music is composed by David Sardy.

No.TitleLength
1."Opening"2:52
2."Cardio"2:30
3."The Standoff"1:29
4."Escalade Sting"0:34
5."Hostess Truck"0:27
6."406"2:11
7."Carpush Manwich"1:41
8."Grocery Store"2:10
9."Marriagable"2:47
10."Girls Abandon Guys"1:01
11."Smash the Van"0:28
12."Walk 'n' Talk"1:04
13."The Yellow Hummer"0:31
14."Clown Dump"0:41
15."H3lp"1:33
16."Gas 'n' Gulp"2:06
17."The Quiet Game"1:09
18."Zombie Kill of the Week"0:12
19."Zombie Kimosabe"0:54
20."Searching the Murray House"1:03
21."Zombie in the House"0:59
22."Monopoly"1:06
23."Pacific Playland (Pt.1)"2:53
24."Pacific Playland (Pt.2)"2:03
25."Columbus Alone"0:30
26."Pacific Playland (Pt.3)"2:04
27."Pacific Playland (Pt.4)"4:31
28."Estasi Dell Anima"1:55
29."Clown"1:30
30."Rat Scare"0:37
31."As Close as I'll Ever Get to Home"0:56
Total length:46:27

Reception

James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "Forgoing the usual dissonant, orchestral arrangements that have populated horror soundtracks since the genre came to prominence, Sardy peppers Zombieland with a barrage of industrial beats, distorted guitars, and electronic mayhem, resulting in the audio equivalent of attention deficit disorder. It works wonders in the context of the film, but as a stand-alone listening experience, it may induce epilepsy." [4] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times noted that "[Sardy] delivers a competent score that doesn’t stand out but only serves to underscore the on-screen action and that it does nicely." [5] Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com called it a "wicked soundtrack". [6]

Additional music

The following songs are featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack: [7] [8]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes: [9]

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef.
BMI Film & TV Awards Film Music Award David Sardy Won [10]
[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Zombieland at 15: The Story Behind the Modern Zombie Classic". Flickering Myth. October 2, 2024. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  2. Douglas, Edward (October 15, 2019). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat . Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  3. "Zombieland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music . October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  4. Monger, James Christopher. "Review: Zombieland [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic . Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  5. Dargis, Manohla (October 2, 2009). "Following a Gore-Slicked Path". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  6. Bumbray, Chris (October 2, 2009). "Review: Zombieland". JoBlo.com . Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  7. Thapa, Shaurya (April 2, 2023). "Zombieland Soundtrack: Every Song & When It Plays". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  8. "Zombieland". Tunefind . Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  9. David Sardy. Zombieland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Relativity Music Group.
  10. "2010 BMI Film/TV Awards Winners List" (Press release). Broadcast Music, Inc. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  11. "2010 BMI Film/TV Award Winners". Broadcast Music, Inc. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2025.