An original and refreshing fusion of two genres

Rating: 8/10 (8 December 2004)

In 2003, Britain tried it's hand at the zombie film; and failed, with the frankly miserable '28 Days Later...'. Then the zombie sub-genre was given another film in 2004; the hugely disappointing remake of the classic 'Dawn of the Dead', and both of these things were leading me think that this parody of the zombie genre might miss the mark as well; but suffice to say, this one doesn't disappoint. If you're expecting to be rolling around on the floor laughing at this movie, you'll be disappointed, but although it's never hilarious, it does keep itself going with a series of giggles, which is sure to delight any viewer. The plot follows Shaun; a young slob that spends most of his time drinking in the pub and playing video games with his even lazier friend. When his girlfriend dumps him on the grounds of him being an unreliable loser, he thinks it's the end of the world....and actually, it is; as, for some reason, the population of London has been transformed into flesh eating zombies and it's now up to Shaun, with the aid of his trusty cricket bat, to save the day!
I often find myself disliking films that spoof the horror genre as there's just something I don't like about someone taking the Michael out of something I love, but some of the sequences in Shaun of the Dead really are inspired moments of comedy. The parts that see the Shaun go about his daily business,completely unaware that people around him are eating each other show a rare brilliance that few comedies have ever matched. As you've probably heard, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have labeled this film a'RomZomCom', which, of course, means that it is a romantic comedy, with zombies. That's almost exactly what it is, with the romantic comedy making up the structure of the movie, and the zombies being thrown in afterwards. Ironically, since most people will see this for the zombies; the romantic comedy elements of the movie are, on the whole, funnier than the parts with the zombies. After a great initial forty minutes, after which is when the zombies start to really come into play, the movie loses steam and you don't find yourself giggling so often. However, it's forgivable as the comedy gets replaced by some great horror sequences, many of which are lifted from the zombie classics, such as Romero's 'Dead' trilogy and The Evil Dead films.
Shaun of the Dead stars two of the main players from the cult comedy 'Spaced'; Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, along with a couple of other regulars from that show, and some other players from various British comedy shows. I have to admit to never having watched Spaced, but I can see that it's written by two obviously talented people, and I may well give it a try on the strength of this film. Simon Pegg's performance is silly, but believable at the same time. He does, actually, appear to be doing an impression of The Office's David Brent for most of the movie; but that's fine with me. Pegg and Frost get to play with a nice assortment of weapons for this film, from cricket bats to snooker cues to shotguns and more (but no chainsaw...) and it's a lot of fun seeing them running around and bashing the undead on the head. This film is a lot of fun on the whole, and I am proud to say that this decade finally has a good zombie film, and I'm even more proud to say that it originates from my home nation...even if it's cast do drink Carling Black Label...