10 Directors Who Never Topped Their First Film

9. Ruben Fleischer - Zombieland

Zack Snyder Dawn of the Dead
Sony

With 2009's Zombieland, Ruben Fleischer caught lightning in a bottle. So much so, it proved completely impossible for eventual follow-up picture, Zombieland: Double Tap, to get anywhere even close to capturing the charm and brilliance of that film.

Fleischer followed his feature debut with the stumbling 30 Minutes or Less comedy, the stacked but disappointing Gangster Squad, the far better than we all feared Venom, and then that Double Tap offering that just felt so lacking on so many fundamental levels - despite, on paper, having in place the majority of what made Zombieland work so well.

All of Fleischer's post-Zombieland movies have shown promise - whether that be great ensemble casts, intriguing premises, or all-out comic book symbiote action - but nothing has yet to top what the director did with his very first feature film.

In a subgenre of horror that's so often predictable and formulaic, Zombieland managed to break the mould and deliver something unique. Pulling equal laughs and equal scares, Fleischer really did capture something special with his '09 effort - and it's something he's yet to surpass in the 12 years since that film first stalked its way onto the silver screen.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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