Shaun of the Dead

[ravenus]

SHAUN OF THE DEAD - Edgar Wright

This is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in recent times and, alongside Dog Soldiers a fantastic indication of the kind of talent and energy that the British scene has.

Shaun, a salesman at an electronics shop, is a general loser. With a tendency to fumble at his job, forget his mother's birthday and mess up his girlfriend's plans, Shaun's only constant companion is Ed, an unemployed and unapologetic overweight couch potato who fills his time with TV and videogames. Just when things couldn't seem to get worse for Shaun, he realizes that the people around him are being rapidly turned into flesh-eating zombies. He then tries to pull together and gather his loved ones to hole up at his beloved Winchester pub and wait till 'it all blows over'.

Designed as a sort of tribute/spoof on George Romero's Living Dead films, especially 'Dawn of the Dead', the film's unique combination of classic British humor (meaning, it doesn't rely on prosthetic gags and is actually funny) and Zombie flavor makes for insanely fun viewing. The scene where Shaun in a hangover walks over to the neighborhood store to buy a cola without even realizing that everyone around him is a zombie, another where Shaun and Ed argue over which LP's are disposable enough to hurl at the Zombies are but two of a million hilarious moments in this film. In fact even without the zombie elements, the film's sharp humor would have made for good amusement (although of course it wouldn't have been Shaun of the Dead then).The best part is that all the spoofs and gags are seamlessly integrated into a genuinely well-strung frenetic narrative that has you constantly wondering what's in store for our hero. The film doesn't shy away from more intense moments, like when Shaun has to shoot his mother after she gets bitten, which is something that needs to be commended because it gets a lot closer to the spirit of Romero's films.

Right from start to finish, Shaun of the Dead is one exciting roller-coaster ride without a single second of boredom or predictability. Enjoyable for all, but a good deal more for Romero fans since there are a lot of sly references to the original movies.

NOTE: Some scenes of gore...those with a queasy stomach please take note. But do see the film.

[I, Brian]

I've never ever erally been into zombie films. I know I saw a couple as a kid but they never appealed. But Shaun of the Dead is one I will definitely look out for - the writers wrote an excellent TV series called "Spaced" which was squarely aimed at a British generation aged 28-35 - such as myself - and was absolutely brilliant. Although a lot of it revolves on references only the 28-35 Brits would get, there was still a lot of charm and wonder in it for other.

So I'll keep an eye out for Shaun of the Dead - many of the same people from that. Thanks for the review.

[Foxbat]

I've heard lots of good reports about this film and it's quickly climbing up my 'must see' list

[ravenus]

@ Brian:

From what I hear, the characters of Shaun and Ed are doppelgangers of the characters those actors played in Spaced.

[I, Brian]

Indeed, I know the actor behind Shaun was one of the leads in Spaced, so there is a definitely a sense of familiarity just watching the trailer.