There’s nothing like a movie that knows it’s making fun of itself to keep an audience entertained. So is the case with “Zombieland.”

The characters are simple and given just enough background to make them not too flimsy.

First off, we have the gamer-geek, Jesse Eisenburg, who has never gotten a girl. Next we meet the crazy guy, Woody Harrelson (apt casting for a crazy guy, I might add), who loves killing zombies and is searching for a Twinkie.

To finish off the main cast we get two sisters who only rely on each other — older sister, cutie Emma Stone of “Superbad,” and younger sister Abigail Breslin, who showcased her talents in “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Here’s where many zombie films try to develop a relevant plot. Thankfully “Zombieland” is less concerned with meaningful tales of loss and survival — the outbreak was caused by a contaminated hamburger — and more into telling a comical tale about four people trying to get to an amusement park, eventually.

Eisenburg opens the film with a voice-over, giving the audience the beginning to his guide on how to survive in a zombie infested world. For many zombie fans, you’re already familiar with these style rules.

For those who aren’t zombie enthusiasts, if you want to learn more about surviving a zombie driven apocalypse go to the library and check out “The Zombie Survival Guide” by Max Brooks — it’s a fine bathroom read.

If you want to learn more of the rules offered by Eisenburg in “Zombieland,” he and Harrelson have created some extra promotional videos on the Web involving paper towels, a cast-iron skillet and a bowling ball.

As with any good zombie flick, half of the fun is in the kills. The always entertaining gunshots, blasting the zombies head over feet into the air, along with vehicle hits — a soccer mom is attacked by the neighborhood zombified children in her minivan — occur with little reprieve. As a bonus, for anyone who is frightened of/hates clowns, a zombie clown gets beaten down by an extra-large mallet towards the end.

As with many movies of late, this film has the feel of a video game brought to life. Complete with a weapons upgrade scene involving a dufflebag full of guns and ammo in the back of a Hum-V, prompting the line from Harrelson, “God bless rednecks.”

Just to add to the marvelous comedic opportunities zombies offer, the film gives us a superstar cameo no one can hate: Bill Murray, as himself — for anyone who says they don’t like Murray, your opinion is wrong.

Oh, and just so you know, there is a deleted scene after the film, involving Murray and Harrelson. Stick around to watch the credits for once and learn about who the best boy was or how many people it really takes to make a movie. This way you won’t waste the extra-large popcorn you always buy because it smells good (fact: that smell is created by the coconut oil used in the popping process).

“Zombieland” is funny, simple and doesn’t try to be anything more than a good time.

Go enjoy it, and feel happy that you’ve just watched classic creatures from the horror genre that aren’t overly good-looking vampires wearing designer clothing.

—Gabriel Stoffa is a senior in communication studies and political science