One of the funniest satires of the past ten years

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2005)

Shaun Of The Dead, depending on how you look at it, is either a satire of the zombie concept itself, or a satire of how Hollywood really seems to fail to get it. The film starts out in an almost quiet, sedate fashion, reminiscent of many a British soap opera. Indeed, when our hero passes by some of the recently reanimated dead, he passes by them with such nonchalance that one has to wonder exactly how soon we would notice if the dead started getting up and eating our neighbours. No explanation is offered for why they start doing so, and I doubt that one is really needed. By now, the zombie concept is so entrenched in imagination that it defies belief that the films people think of when one mentions zombies are not those made by the great George Romero.
Unlike the excerable Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which effectively sent itself up, the comedy in Shaun Of The Dead is subtle, fully intentional, and even well-orchestrated. As in any good zombie film, social normalities are messed with, people's expectations of how their actions will turn out are defied, and more humans are killed by the stupidity of their peers rather than any direct contact with the zombies. As is promised in the theatrical trailers, you will get to see zombies being killed with every household or gardening implement imaginable. Even the old record collection gets a try. By far the funniest moment in the film, however, is the ending, which is where the implication that this film was intended to satirise the commercial film system's inability to understand the zombie concept comes from. I won't spoil it for you, but it will bring to mind images of the attempts to make certain sequels as family-friendly as possible.
Interestingly, product placements are also minimal in this feature. In the ninety-odd minutes it ran for, I could not count a single instance where a product was displayed for no other reason than flashing a logo in the audience's face. Not that having recognisable products in a film is necessarily bad, but after some films in which one can play Guess Which Phone Company Paid For Production, the contrast is nice. Given the minimal budget involved, they wouldn't have needed product placement in order to make a profit. More on that anon.
Unlike a lot of zombie films, especially the aforementioned Resident Evil sequel, Shaun Of The Dead uses the 2.35:1 frame very effectively. Shots of zombies being shot in the head are staged very smoothly, and some of the outdoor scenes have a dynamic framing that Leone would admire. Indeed, one would never guess that it only cost four million dollars to make from looking at it. That's almost as impressive in low-budget terms as Mad Max. But what really keeps the film going is the story. Simple and to the point, it gets the horror element going without resorting to the usual big conspiracy ideas that some zombie films sadly trip themselves over. Whoever thought that so much could be made out of a trip from the apartment to the pub, by way of mother's home?
When I think about what kind of score to give Shaun Of The Dead, an eight seems most appropriate. The humour is often culture-specific, and there are only a few outright belly-laugh moments, but it is entertaining from start to finish, unlike many of the recent entries in the genre it is attempting to satirise.