Right up there with Evil Dead 2 and Dead Alive!

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2005)

British humor, how I love it! "Shaun Of The Dead" is full of it. Let me make clear right at the beginning that this movie can also be watched by people who are not into Zombie and horror flicks at all. This is a mixture of almost every genre you can imagine. There's a little bit of drama, a little bit of romance, some horror and, as I said, LOTS of humor! It's easy to tell that the people behind this project have a great love for the Zombie genre. What separates them from geeks like Peter Jackson, is that they don't live exclusively in their fantasy world, but that they have a sharp eye for people's motivations and their way of dealing with everyday problems. Where "Dead Alive", "Bad Taste" and even "Evil Dead 2" drew their laughs from extensive use of blood, guts and over-the-top violence, "Shaun Of The Dead" is funny because of its debunking look at the lives of average Joes. Somehow the movie follows the tradition of Romero's flicks by unmasking people's weaknesses, but it does that in a much warmer and - again - humorous way.
Shaun is one of us, an everyday guy, who has everyday problems, and keeps having them even in the most bizarre situations. Simon Pegg nails the character. He creates a new Anti-Hero à la Ash without being a pale rip-off of that character. Each cast member has amazing timing and knows how to bring the humor of the script to life.
The only little beef I have with "Shaun Of The Dead" is that it gets a little too serious in the end, which is a little inappropriate considering for the rest of the time the viewer plies between grinning incessantly and roaring with laughter.
Anyway, "Shaun Of The Dead" is an instant cult classic and will gain a huge fanbase. It was about time someone took the throne of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are definitely worthy of that legacy.