Witty, funny, dramatic: Shaun of the Dead is very enjoyable and undoubtedly worth watching

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2006)

I saw this not to long ago, and I can safely say that it is not funny, but hilarious! Shaun of the Dead is an excellent parody of Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead. Shaun is your average British guy who lives with a friend that mooches off of him (Ed) and a girlfriend who just broke up with him (Liz) and a mom who has a very distant relationship with him. (Barbara) During one odd day, Shaun and Ed notice that the townspeople seem to be staggering and groaning. Weird. It becomes weirder when they start biting and even weirder when the news starts warning people to stay inside their houses, because the townspeople have turned into zombies.
The film is well-known for being funny. Apparently, Shaun's dry wit of the situation makes the viewers able to laugh. My friend and I had to re-play the scene where Shaun encounters a zombie and makes a bit of a song with him. It was that funny. The other scenes aren't as funny, but still worth a decent laugh. Shaun certainly provides the silliness needed to pull of big laughs. I also thought the sense of irony made it funny.
David: (while Shaun is off fighting zombies) "And what's Shaun's big plan? Sitting around in the dark eating peanuts?" Shaun: (perhaps ten minutes later) Would anybody like a peanut? Aside from that, the film is also a good horror and thriller. Yes, it is a comedy, but it isn't a comedy so silly that it messes up the story line, just to get a decent laugh. The story is the same as Night of the Living Dead, except perhaps a bit sillier. Who says parodies can't be thrilling? I also thought it could qualify as a drama. Various scenes of death and revealed secrets make it fairly emotional. Zombies eating and killing everybody doesn't exactly make you feel good. The characters slightly fall apart, as emotions take over logic, which causes the characters to need to pull together and fight harder in the situation.
There were two main flaws in the movie. The first is that it may be WAY too gory for some people. Yes, it is a zombie movie, but is viewing somebody's insides fully necessary? The second one is that the film lessens as a comedy and becomes more of a drama during the part when the group enters the pub. It takes away some of the light-hearted tone, and takes a more serious tone. I do like drama, but that was kind of disappointing for me, because I really loved the witty comedic moments Shaun of the Dead had to offer.
None of the jokes are over-drawn or too stupid to prevent a laugh. They come by the minute, each one funnier then the next. It really made my day.
8.5/10
Good: Funny, light-hearted, witty, and makes a decent horror, thriller and comedy
Bad: It's pretty gory, and seems to put an emphasis on horror and drama halfway through the film, which decreases it's comedic level.