Mixed feelings about the film

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2007)

I was really looking forward to watching this film as everyone was raving about what a brilliant scary film it was. What also made me want to watch the film was that it was made in Britain and until recently, there has been real surge of horror films made in Britain which I am glad about.
I was a little disappointed when I finished watching it. It wasn't rubbish but it wasn't excellent. I think what has left me with mixed feelings about Shaun of the dead is the film seems to be mainly a comedy and there are some very funny bits which I will get back to in a minute. The thing is all these funny things happen and you're laughing away and then the film changes tact and becomes more serious with Shaun having to kill his mum after she is beaten by a zombie and then Dianne and David being killed by the zombies, it just didn't sit right for the film to suddenly go down this route when basically for most of the film we were laughing at the antics of the zombies and I just couldn't get back into the film after seeing him kill his own mother. I even wondered because the violence involved towards the end if it would turn out to be all a dream but it wasn't to be. I feel like the film couldn't decide what genre it was going to be and if it was to be more horror driven, then there should not have been as much comedy as there was so in that respect I think the film let itself down there.
The other part of me liked the film especially at the start when we see that we are in a way zombies ourselves. We all go to work, queue in lines, go shopping without really thinking about what we are doing.
I love the fact that Shaun is an anti-hero in this. He is in a job that is mundane and no-one respects him there. He spends all his time going to the pub and just drinking and isn't interested in doing anything else. Then London's population starts to turn into zombies and he becomes a leader who the others turn to, to get them out of the situation they are in and he finds himself battling zombies and becoming the most unlikely hero you have ever seen on film.
I was in stitches with the humour especially when the zombies are introduced into the story line. I have mentioned down below my favourite humorous scenes. One scene is when Shaun and Ed have Shaun's record collection and they are debating about what records to throw at zombies while the zombies are coming towards them. Two, Shaun introducing his girlfriend to his mother when they are trying to get away from the zombies. Three, Shaun's gang meeting up with Yvonne's gang who are basically the same type of characters but played by well-known television actors that have worked with Shaun's (Simon Pegg) gang in other television programmes. Classic! The last is the duke box playing Queen's 'Don't Stop me now' when they are beating up the zombie landlord with pool cues.
I think the zombie make up works so well and is so convincing and I like the fact the film doesn't take itself too seriously.