credit where it is due

Rating: 6/10 (17 September 2007)

the zombie/comedy genre is somewhat limited to judge Shaun of the dead, as far as the comedy goes it is humorous but not hilarious, but then very few movies can sustain the laughs. as for the horror; it is not and could not compete with the likes of the dawn of the dead remake and there is every reason to avoid that degree of horror. as for plot; well, it is well thought out with a descent preamble that is actually plausible considering it is a zombie movie and is free of the plot holes that seem to plague many movies such as 28 days later.
the main thrust of criticism beyond the inappropriate comparisons with other zombie movies is the humour and characters' unlovable behaviour but this misses the key plot element. it is a rites of passage movie where Shaun has yet to grow up and treat his life and women seriously requiring a crisis for him to move on. As a story of the child moving into responsible adulthood, even at 29! it is one of the few where the protagonist actually shoots his mother. It has its clever moments and part of that is the nature of the adolescent humour without it we would not be able to track his passage.
Shaun of the dead does a good job considering that it is a low budget comedy horror, it may not be American werewolf which is a classic but it is as funny and as a movie the script and plot are a whole lot more tighter than dog soldiers or 28 days or 28weeks. It is not going to be as scary or horrific as zombie movies but it is comparable IMHO, to the original Dawn of the Dead that had the depth of observation as part of the subplot.
it seems to be one of those movies that will be compared when it needs to be judged on its own merits.