Shaun, a man with no real goal in life are having a few problems. Except for his deadbeat flatmates and his step-dad, one problem being that long-time girlfriend Liz just dumped him because he lacks ambition and spends more time in his favourite pub than he does with her. His temporary management job is not going to well either, and the people working for him shows him no respect and giving him a hard time of day. In the middle of all this, London is all of a sudden overrun by zombies and Shaun must save, not only himself, but also his mates, mom, and his ex.
Shaun of the Dead is sort of like a black comedy zombie spoof of Dawn of the Dead and a little bit of 28 Days Later, but that still totally manages to stand on it's own. It sounded pretty good when I first heard about it, but when I actually got to see the movie, it practically blew me away. It's very British, that is the type of humour, but not weird or too out there like Monty Python sometimes can be. It's a movie that's really easy to get into and that offers tons of great laughs and an overall really good atmosphere. The humour is the biggest thing here and is so well delivered throughout the movie.
You should of course have seen Dawn of the Dead before watching this to get most out of it. And after finishing watching Shaun, go back and watch Dawn again, and I promise you, it won't look the same as it did before. When writing this I've seen Shaun of the Dead a number of times, and it's truly a great zombie comedy that probably will only come along once in a life-time.
Thing here is that the story is actually really decent. It's not your average parody movie that is somewhat fun for the first half hour or so, this one makes it all the way through and does an excellent job doing it. What it truly succeeds in is that it balances the humour really well. Usually when it comes to parodies, they just end up being too much in the end. Shaun is different because it's not only humour, but except for that the story being good and interesting, it also deals with some other stuff. The humour is of course there at all times, but not in your face and that's one thing that makes it last all the way and really deliver.
Since it's first and most a comedy, don't expect to get scared. Still, there's actually a whole lot of violence and some gore in the movie, and even if the zombies are braindead and funny, they're still pretty nasty. So it's never too comical in the sense that the whole thing becomes a joke, it's funny as hell but you are still able to take it somewhat seriously if you know what I'm saying. Infact, while always being a comedy, in some scenes it turns into a full blown horror experience, and other times it turns into a somewhat more romantic kind of drama. It has a little of everything and that's a good thing.
The directing is excellent and the whole movie looks very nice. The acting is top-notch and everyone do a tremendous job, especially Simon Pegg who has the role of Shaun himself and pulls off a brilliant and humorous performance.
Best movie of 2004? I'm not sure but it's a fantastic and original movie with great British humour, and a really good story that'll keep your interest up. If you haven't seen it yet, then do yourself a favor and go rent or buy it...now!
By
Back to Horror Review Archive
|
ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 2004
DIRECTOR: Edgar Wright
WRITING CREDITS: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
CAST: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost
COUNTRY: UK, France
RUNTIME: 99 min
RATING: 10/10
Shaun of the Dead Website/IMDB Click here
Shaun of the Dead Trailer Click here
|
