Best horror-comedy I've ever seen...

Rating: 9/10 (9 May 2011)

Shaun's nearing 30, stuck in a crappy sales job, and his girlfriend Liz is unhappy with the amount of time he spends with his ultra-slacker B- class drug dealer friend, Ed, at their local pub, the Winchester. When Liz dumps him, Shaun's so glum he doesn't even realise that London's been overrun with flesh-eating zombies. But somewhere within his console-happy lazy self, a hero is born.
British humor, how I love it! "Shaun Of The Dead" is full of it. For everyone to know, this isn't a simple spoof of Dawn Of The Dead(as the name implies) , it's more a romantic comedy that just so happens to be littered with the Zombies(or zom-rom-com) a self-proclaimed new genre, who appear for no good clear reason (although some tantalizing clues are offered). Let me make clear right at the beginning that you don't need to be a horror fan to enjoy it. You just need to have the right sense of humour. This is a mixture of almost every genre you can imagine. There's a little bit of drama, a little bit of romance, some horror and, as I said, LOTS of humor! spiced with the references to every zombie flick ever made. The movie is clever, witty, sweet and nasty and, at times, gory and horrific. The film is an amazing blend of the funny, the violent and the poignant. "Shaun of the Dead" has some great comical moments and yet it has been made with lots of professionalism like this was a serious gory horror movie they were making. Because of this, through its seriousness, the movie becomes perhaps even more hilarious and really delivers. Both the fans of the (British) comedy-genre and the fans of mainly 'Zombie' movies and other gory horror-movies, will be entertained by this movie.
The script is wonderful and throws up many comedic moments, such as my favorite, the old record collection that Shaun (Simon Pegg) and ED (Nick Frost) insanely used to throw at two oncoming zombies, and at the same time, the methodical and selective process of which albums they wanted to throw and which they wanted to keep! "Dire Straits?" "Chuck it!", or when Shaun and his friends beat up an elderly zombie in the pub using cricket bats, all to the rhythm of Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. I can't even begin to emphasise how cool this British film is. The amount of time it takes for Shaun and Ed to realise anything's wrong is priceless. This is as about as original as it gets. They actually manage to pull off humour, violence, decapitations, action, romance, suspense, sadness and joy all within the space of 90 minutes! The ending is hilarious, something you'll have to see for yourself.
The acting is just brilliant and the actors perfectly know how to play in both hilarious/funny scene's as well as in serious/emotional one's. I've always been a huge fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and their real life friendship really helps in their reel life chemistry. Anytime they're together on-screen, they just shine. Plus of course it has the wonderful Bill Nighy playing a role in it. This guy really is a terrific actor that always is at his best in comical roles like he plays in this movie.
Visually the movie is really good looking. The gore, make-up and visual effects are extremely good and are even something that I haven't even seen in 'serious' Zombie/horror flicks. For a low budget film, the zombies are pretty menacing looking and there are some genuinely scary moments to be found in the movie. There's also several touching scenes between Shaun and his mum and dad...sorry, I mean step-dad(you'll know what I'm talking about when you watch the movie).
There isn't really anything negative I can think of in the film. Even the action is well handled, with enough gore to satisfy any fans of zombie flicks. From beginning to end, the whole mood and the whole atmosphere continue to deliver and to entertain from moment to moment. This is NOT a spoof film, this is a unique take on the zombie genre from a British viewpoint, with a lot of humor and obvious satire thrown in, for good measure.
All in all, this is a must see film which showcases Simon Pegg's talents excellently. You'll be laughing the whole time. I give it 8 out of 10.