Shaun of the Dead
February 6, 2005
Rated: R Runtime: 99 min Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Shaun of the Dead is a British film that is described as “a romantic comedy with zombies” and if you have seen the previews, it leads you to believe it is nothing more than a wacky satire on all zombie movies. WRONG… I am happy to burst your bubble because it is far from just a satire, at times it is side splitting hysterical and others it is NOT. If you are looking for pure satire rent a Wayans Brothers movie or something from Zucker/Abrahams and skip this one but… If you have an open mind and you are looking for a cool movie that offers almost all (sadly, no T&A) aspects of the guy movie criteria, be in the theatre early and settle in for an awesome movie going experience. If you are still reading that means you aren’t the average nimrod and, you want more info, so here ya go.
Ok enough shilling, onto the story. Shaun (Simon Pegg) lives with his two flat mates (room mates for us Yanks) in a little house in the middle of ordinary neighborhood UK . One is a white collar monkey that takes himself too seriously named Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) and the other is a fat tub of goo named Ed (Nick Frost). Well, actually it is one flat mate and a freeloader but who’s keeping score. Anywhoo, Shaun heads out to work where we get to meet his step dad Philip (Bill Nighy) when he drops in to remind Shaun that today is Mom’s birthday and he needs to come by or at least call her. Based on the expression on both of their faces we discover there is very little love lost between them and the only link they have is dear old Mom… Stay with me, it will all make since later on, I promise.
Shaun orders flowers for Mommie Dearest and as he is he thumbing through the phone book his eye glances at the restaurant section and he realizes that he forgot (who hasn’t) that his three year anniversary to Liz (Kate Ashfield) is also tonight. Uh Oh… Shaun has a problem. What to do, what to do? I’ll tell you what he does. He does what any man in his position would do. Give his Mom’s flowers to his girlfriend and take her to the pub they go to every single night and beg forgiveness. Yeah, he shoots he scores. Not exactly, because she is a WOMAN and she also does what any woman in her position would do… she dumps him. One word… Ho.
Depressed he and Ed go back to the pub and toss back a few pints where Ed does the single best ‘Clyde’ impression you have ever seen on film and then drink some more. The bar closes so they go back to the flat to pass out and all hell breaks loose… literally. Shaun and Ed wake up and turn on the telli (TV) and all they see on every channel is newscasts about the little boggle going on outside but since they are distracted by the need to drink tea and play first person shooters they ignore it. They share some great laughs regarding the tea until Ed sees a girl hanging out in the back yard. Ed and Shaun go out to investigate, one thing leads to another, chickie attacks Shaun, Shaun pushes the chickie and she falls on a big jagged pipe sticking out of the yard. Is there any other kind in your backyard? Dead chick ‘A’ pries herself off the pipe and they freak, (who wouldn’t) and they know now that all is not right in the Queen’s Kingdom. They go to get weapons to fight off the rotting intruder when another undead passerby joins in and that’s when the real fun begins. Shaun with his trusty Cricket (gay british baseball) bat and Ed with a spade (baby shovel) bust up a couple of gooheads and go back inside to plan their next move.
I will stop here but I insist you go out and see this movie opening weekend because it is the perfect blend of Guy entertainment. If you are a fan of gory zombie flicks, go… If you like dark comedy, go and although you probably have never seen anything the director Edgar Wright has done in the past, there are only a couple of people that can do the zombie thing… Wright is one of them. Do not think for yourself, you might get hurt. Just trust in JC and go anyway.
Big props to George Romero because he is the KING of Zombie movies and although he has no direct involvement with this one, he does endorse it and as far as we were concerned that was enough to get us in the door (that and the advanced screener). You read a lot of taglines and hear way too many teaser ads that describe a movie as an instant hit or cult classic and almost every one them doesn’t come close to holding up… this one does.
Seen it? How many stars do you give it?



(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
I bought this movie based on the review here. i cannot stop recommending it to anyone. You like comedy - watch this. You like horror - watch this. You like romance - watch this. You have a big slob friend who crashes on your sofa - tell him to watch this and maybe he’ll see what could happen if he doesn’t move off your sofa.
Well, since you liked SHAWN OF THE DEAD, el conquistador, I recommend HOT FUZZ by the same guys!