“Why not go big and go home?”

Story: It’s been ten years, and our foursome has turned into a real family. With all the snarking, insecurities and plain-old butt-pain moments that entails. Good thing the zombies haven’t mutated, causing some to become really, really hard to kill! Oh wait…

Scares: More fun than fearsome.

Splat factor: As Columbus suggests, “you might wanna set the Milk Duds down for this one.”

Closing scene “shocker”?: Nope, but there are two fun end credits scenes worth sticking all the way around for.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Sequel to 2009’s terrific horror comedy Zombieland. Natch.

Trick or Treat?: Let’s wrap this year’s #31in31 up with a bang and check out Tap, a sequel that as of this date is still in theaters. And if you haven’t made plans for tonight, you’ll want to grab your nearest family/family-ish member and hit the multiplex, because this film is even better than its predecessor. Nah, I’m not blowing smoke. The combination of more quality cameos, bigger and badder zombies, and the sturm und drang our foursome goes through now that they’ve settled (?) in to their familial roles, makes Tap worth seeing in theaters. Hell, I’m already looking forward to snapping this one up once it hits Blu-Ray.

Our foursome – Harrelson, Stone, Eisenberg and Breslin – are a joy to watch as they reprise their roles. Their onscreen chemistry has grown stronger, and the way they happily dig into their roles adds to the fun. So does taking these characters out of their ten-year comfort zone, and adding a few new folks to the mix. I’m not gonna say too much about who’s who and what’s what, because spoilers sweetie. I will say that even the newbies give performances that made me feel like they were stoked to be a part of this.

I’m fine with adding types of zombies to the mix. It’s a great way to shake up the usual walker/runner tropes, and I dig that the writers give us something new. I’ll bet we’ll see types of zombies in other films after this. I’m with knowing exactly what’ll be happening as the story unfolds; with Tap, it’s the ride, not the destination. (Though that climax is pretty damn cool.) And I’m fine with the misuse of famous art…no. That’s my line in the sand y’all. You don’t do that to art, my foursome. No. *smacks newspaper onto noses*

From the excellent opening credits through the fun callbacks to the original, to the gleefully over-the-top climax, Tap pushes all the right buttons. I’m fine waiting another ten years for a threequel if it’s gonna be as good as what’s come before. A big, huge thank you to the director, writers, cast and crew for coming back together to get this done.

Have a fantastic Halloween one and all – and see you next year for AFan’s #31in31 10th Anniversary! Ten years? Man, I’m gonna have to pull something out of my…pumpkin

Score: 5 out of 5 pumpkins. Like I’m gonna give this fantastic follow-up anything less.