We waited 10 long years for the sequel to the box office smash, and I think Zombieland: Double Tap was well worth every zombie-slaughtering moment.

Zombieland premiered in 2009 when we were well in the thick of the sequels and remakes and adaptations (oh my!) era, and shined like a beacon of original story light. I mean, it’s basically a zombie movie for people who don’t like zombie movies, with plenty for zombi-philes to love as well.

It centers its focus on the world post-zombie-outbreak, not on the crisis itself, or the horrors that befell people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zombieland was a welcome relief for those of us who would love more Halloween-esque movies, but aren’t down for horror.

Zombieland: Double Tap continues that tradition in its own inimitable style.

This movie recommences the tale of our original four characters, Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock, following them from their temporarily permanent dwelling at the White House through their necessary adventure to protect one of their own. Along the way, we meet some new faces, some of whom can cut it in Zombieland, and some who just weren’t destined to make it the long haul.

My favorite thing about Zombieland and its sequel will always be the dynamic between our four leads, which is largely intact in this sequel. Watching them bond over their individual searches for normalcy in an abnormal post-apocalypse throughout the original movie is replaced in Zombieland: Double Tap by each of their searches for what constitutes “living” in a world full of the undead.

For some, living is seeking out adventure and never settling for mediocre, and I think it’s obvious to say this is Tallahassee’s way of life. While settled at their White House estate, he definitely made routine trips to the Smithsonian to gather the most eclectic and personally meaningful gallery of mementos from a better time. I found it fucking hysterical to look at the objects he chose to bring home and visualize his whole adventure.

I wish I could have watched him driving down Pennsylvania Ave in his ‘beast’ of a car with the actual Apollo 11 capsule strapped to the roof. Take 20 seconds and picture it. Textbook Tallahassee.

For Columbus, truly living in Zombieland is finding human connection and holding onto it for dear life. It started with his bonding to Tallahassee, but peaked with Wichita’s grand entrance. He clearly loves Little Rock, too, because he craves those personal connections more than anything. He may have given up on ever making it to Columbus, OH to see if his parents are still alive, but he makes his own ragtag family with all the people who stay… at least for a little while.

Wichita is all about comfort. She doesn’t want to be pressured into living the same life she would have pre-apocalypse, but she also doesn’t want to give into the chaos of post-apocalyptic mayhem, either. She’s always on the lookout for the familiar, and will straight up leave your ass if you try to fence her in.

By the end of Zombieland: Double Tap, I’d like to think Wichita has found her comfort, but also has realized that she can live a bit of the life she would have wanted pre-Zombieland, even if it doesn’t last forever.

Little Rock is the one with the most predictable story. Rather than finding some semblance of life before and holding onto it with all she has, she longs for everything a ‘normal’ teen would have had pre-Zombieland. She wants to meet people, have boyfriends, smoke weed, and doesn’t want to think about the consequences. And for the most part, that’s exactly what she does in Zombieland: Double Tap.

All four of these remarkable characters are on the hunt for the thing that makes them feel fulfilled in an unpredictable world. And I’d say that, for the most part, Zombieland: Double Tap gives them all a chance to see how this new world can give them everything they want, even if it doesn’t come exactly as they expected.

I enjoyed the hell out of Zombieland: Double Tap. I don’t care that giving it a sequel throws it into the sequels/remakes/reboot lot. It’s a wholly original world full of stories that are definitely worth telling, even if it’s only in brief, Zombie Kill of the Year segments.

I love these movies, and will appreciate their love for nonsensical fight sequences and over-the-top theatrics with every ounce of my being. I love the rules (not commandments), I love their rides, I love their quest for normalcy, and their acceptance of anything but. This movie just gives us all more chances to love the absurdly pleasing world of Zombieland and the strange little family that warms our hearts.

Oh, and if Tallahassee’s plan doesn’t own Zombie Kill of the Century for the next 100 years, I definitely need to see a movie about whichever jackass finds a better way to kill a zombie hoard. Just saying.

Zombieland: Double Tap is playing now in theaters nationwide.