rating:
(out of
4 stars)United Kingdom, France; 2004
Directed by Edgar Wright; produced by Nira Park; written by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Nicola Cunningham
Most of the good zombie films are filled with funny moments. 'Dawn of the Dead', the original, has its share of comedy and films like 'Evil Dead II' and 'Braindead' are actually more comedy than horror. So is the brilliant British zombie-comedy named 'Shaun of the Dead'. Don't get me wrong, it has its scary and very gory moments, like 'Braindead', but you will laugh more than you are scared. It has an original story although it borrows a lot as well. George A. Romero's classics 'Night of the Living Dead', 'Dawn of the Dead' and 'Day of the Dead', 'The Evil Dead' films, and that other British zombie-film, '28 Days Later', all play their small part here, most of the time in a funny way.
'Shaun of the Dead' does not explain how the first zombies arrive, it does mock suggestions done in other films. The opening scenes, where the main character named Shaun (Simon Pegg) does not even notice people around him are un-dead, are brilliant. At first you have a feeling something is wrong, then there are glimpses of people acting strange, and then we see a head fall off a body. At this point Shaun thinks he sees some strange things but zombies are probably the last thing on his mind. He has some problems with his two roommates. One is Ed (Nick Frost), his good friend who his not smartest and most active person you could imagine. The other is Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) who wants Ed out. Shaun also has some problems with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), who of course all join this zombie story.
After a while Shaun and Ed realize what is going on, a very funny scene I must say, so they make up a plan. It involves picking up people including Liz and Shaun's mother. The plan sort of succeeds. They are also joined by Shaun's stepfather, played by Bill Nighy who you may recall from 'Love Actually' and Liz's roommates named David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis). With Shaun as their leader it is time to face the zombies. Of course things never go completely as planned.
Maybe this story sounds a little familiar and at times it is. But the way the plot is used to become funny without pushing it too much is very admirable. For some reason it is hilarious when Shaun hits a zombie with a cricket bat or when he throws old gramophone records at them. I guess you really have to see for yourself why simple things like this become nice gags here. I can say that music is used exactly the way it should be, creating even more comedy moments. The dialogue hits the right note most of the time, making sure 'Shaun of the Dead' is not a simple zombie film with clichéd one-liners. This film is more intelligent than you might think, very gory at times, very funny most times.