Dark, Funny, and Dark... and then Funny Again!

Rating: 9/10 (17 September 2018)

The best dark comedies are the ones that are equally dark and humorous. It's a fine balance to walk. Even more challenging is a movie that goes the extra step: trying to gracefully transition back and forth between those two extremes. You can never tell whether or not, let alone when, to take them seriously. Or not.
There are parts in Shaun of the Dead that were really horrifying. Disturbing, even. There are parts that contain very serious drama and emotional moments with enough impact that they are hard to forget and leave me with knots in my stomach in a way that few actual horror flicks manage to pull off. Then there are moments of wry humor so expertly executed and so delightfully irreverent that this is easily one of the most quotable and ridiculous movies of the last few years. Campy doesn't even begin to describe it's high points.
These things are not mutually exclusive. Somehow Shaun manages to capture very different moods, mastering them, and navigating between them and/or blending them at will. It's an odd, and lovely experience that will leave an impression, or possibly several.