Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Kate Ashfield.

Plot: Shaun is a lazy slacker who hates his job, has no direction in his life, and is trying to sustain his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend, Liz.  It doesn't help that his best friend, Ed, is even more of a slacker, and seems to be holding him back as a result.  After a nasty break up with Liz, who wants to escape the monotony of their relationship, Shaun gets drunk and parties all night with Ed, which makes them oblivious to the sudden zombie outbreak that happens overnight.  The following morning, the duo slowly realize that the dead have risen, so they decide to save Shaun's mother and Liz, go to the Winchester (Shaun's favorite pub) and wait for all this to blow over.  Will they be able to survive this nasty turn of events, or will they become zombie chow?

Good: First of all, the cast in this movie is fantastic.  Simon Pegg is great as Shaun, and pulls off both the comedic and dramatic moments in the film very well.  His performance really shows off the development Shaun goes through, by acting more dull and oblivious in the beginning, while becoming more active and intelligent as the film goes on.  This is really apparent when Shaun goes out to buy a Cornetto, and is totally unaware of the zombies and destruction around him, and near the end, when he's fighting off zombies using his whits.  Nick Frost as Ed is equally hilarious, if not more so.  He does an amazing job as the vulgar and lethargic slouch of the film.  In a lesser movie, this character would be very annoying, since there are many times where he makes the situation much worse (such as when he answers his phone when the gang is pretending to be zombies), but Frost makes him just likable enough that the audience doesn't mind.  The rest of the cast does a very good job as well.  They all have great comedic timing and chemistry with each other, and each member of the primary cast gets a scene to shine in.  Penelope Wilton is particularly heartwarming and hilarious as Shaun's mother, and Kate Ashfield gives an entertaining and believable performance as Liz, but neither of them really match the caliber of Pegg and Frost.  Another amazing thing about this film is the editing and camerawork, which is something Edgar Wright films excel at.  A great deal of effort is put into making each shot of the movie as entertaining and hilarious as possible.  The most mundane parts of the movie, such as Shaun buying flowers, are shot and edited like it's a tense horror scene.  This makes the film much more funny and entertaining than it should be, and it makes the film feel more unique as a result.  The writing is also excellent.  The characters are written believably, and there's never a moment where they're out of character.  The script also contains a multitude of well-written jokes.  There are so many verbal, physical, and subtle jokes in the film that it's hard to catch them all.  One of my favorites is when Shaun and Ed realize that the woman in their garden is a zombie, Ed slowly starts advancing the film in his camera.  That moment, while small, can make a world of difference in turning a funny scene into a hilarious scene.  But the script doesn't just consist of great jokes, as there are many well done serious, heartbreaking, and scary moments.  The scene in the pub's basement is one of the best examples of combining drama with humor that I've ever seen on film.  Elements like this help elevate Shaun of the Dead beyond the expectations of comedy and horror films.

Bad: Despite the majority of the characters being enjoyable to watch, there is one character who doesn't really work, that character being David.  Dylan Moran does give a decent performance, and he does get a few funny lines, but for the most part, he complains way too much and brings a bit too much forced conflict within the story.  He also makes the situation much worse for the characters, and has none of the charm that Ed has to fall back on.  However, this doesn't become apparent until the second half of the movie, so it's not a huge problem.  All in all, he just ends up being kind of superfluous, and the plot could have done well without him.  Another issue is that the zombies' look isn't very interesting.  The makeup and effects look convincing enough, but their design is pretty bland and lacks imagination.  Wright could have made the zombies look more unique, rather than slow moving people with white eyes and maybe some blood on them.  On the other hand, he might have not have focused as much on the zombies so that he could focus more on the characters and the humor.

Trivia:

• George A. Romero (the director of many classic zombie films) was so impressed by this film that he gave Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright cameos in Land of the Dead.
• The friendship between Shaun and Ed is based off of the real life friendship of Pegg and Frost.
• Many of the zombies were played by fans of Spaced, a TV show made by Wright and starring Pegg and Frost.
• None of the characters' surnames (other than celebrity cameos) are heard or given throughout the film.

Final Verdict: Shaun of the Dead is a smart, funny, and sometimes terrifying movie.  It has great characters, fantastic acting, and amazing writing.  I would highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of zombies, or just great comedies in general.  However, if you can't stand some gore and death, you might want to give it a pass, depending on your comfort level.

Next week, I'll be reviewing a much more recent and serious film about one of the greatest minds alive today, The Theory of Everything.

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