An original and thoroughly amusing take at horror parodies

Rating: 8/10 (20 April 2014)

At a time when idiotic, unfunny, and offensive horror movie spoofs à la Scary Movie were in prime bloom, who would have expected a genuinely amusing parody to come along? Well, probably nobody, and even less so in the case of it making fun of the zombie sub-genre. Against all odds however, the hilariously talented British comedy trio Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost took a try and did exactly that with the applaudably original Shaun of the Dead.
One reason for that is the gory fun refusing to be a stereotypical cinematic spoof and zeroing in on an at least mostly viable plot, a storytelling trajectory with an actual start and finish, and a realistic and relatable protagonist. Yet, the less positive side of these three arguments also includes that there are a couple of instances of over the top weirdness, spontaneous digressions in the central part, and clichéd supporting roles providing for nothing but laughs and that you wouldn't mind to see served as a midday snack for the undead lurking behind every corner. What makes Shaun of the Dead worth watching in the teeth of all these flaws is its dark and referential humour, even if the gags don't come at minute intervals and rarely are laugh out loud ones as they in return are subtle ones and sure to maintain their amusement at a repeated watch. In addition, the film is, quite surprisingly, superbly made on a technical level, making great use of quick and long shots, different camera angles, multiple forms of lighting, and believable bloodshed.
Shaun of the Dead is far from perfect, even when regarded as nothing more but a comedy, but has something exciting up its sleeve on every level of filmmaking – the pub shoot-out accompanied by Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" is a truly masterful application of music as a means to improve a scene, for example – and is lethally entertaining in every one of its 99 minutes of running time.