A Brilliant "Rom-Zom-Com"

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2005)

The recent surge of horror remakes has been replete with glossy, flashy movies full of generic scores mixed with meaningless nu-metal music, unoriginal story lines, carnage suitable only for cookie-cutter teen audiences, and the problem of taking themselves all too seriously. What's happened to the inventive, darkly funny horror films of yester-year, such as "The Evil Dead" and "Dead Alive"? Hollywood has all but forgotten what once made horror films great, but it seems that the UK is out to remind them. First with "28 Days Later", a film that put a new spin on the zombie genre, and now with "Shaun of the Dead", a hilarious romantic zombie comedy, or "rom-zom-com".
"Shaun of the Dead" is about, well, Shaun (Pegg), a man who is at a crossroads in his life. He works a dead-end job, he lives with his slob of a best friend, Ed (Frost), and he was just dumped by his girlfriend of three years, Liz (Ashfield). In the midst of trying to sort all of this out, a zombie epidemic just happens to break out, and this only "exacerbates" things for him.
Right from the first frame, we get the feeling that this is a thoroughly complete horror comedy, as right away it features The Goblins' score for the original "Dawn of the Dead". The references to classic horror films and filmmakers just flow and flow constantly, as the film gives a nod to everything from Romero's "Dead" series (obviously) to "The Evil Dead" to Lucio Fulci. The way the film approaches the zombie invasion is extremely clever and well-handled, featuring several brilliant sequences, one of which shows Shaun routinely walking the streets of London on a perfectly average morning and then walking them again on the morning of the undead, or, dare I say it, the "dawn of the dead" (insert eye-roll here), without even noticing the difference. But what really makes the film outstanding is not just the horror element, but the fact that this would be a hysterical and wonderful film even without the zombie twist. The acting is excellent, especially from Simon Pegg, who delivers gags with perfect comic timing, pulls off heated confrontations expertly, and even nails the film's demanding emotional scenes, including a scene where he is forced to shoot his own zombified mother.
Not only does the film keep the laughs and the inventiveness flowing, but it also delivers what so many of the sleek Hollywood horror remakes of late have been forgetting: gore. It's complete with squirting blood, gushing bites, head-shots, and even a disembowling. Also, the ending, though something of a deux es machina, is still extremely inventive and is most certainly a crowd pleaser.
Edward Wright (co-writer/director) and Simon Pegg (co-writer) have delivered a film that will satisfy the demands of horror purists, romantic comedy fans, and just about every other kind of moviegoer there is (except for maybe the teens that are in love with "The Grudge" and "Dawn of the Dead" (2004)), for it is truly a film that doesn't forget any of the elements of a great horror movie, comedy, or drama.
9/10