Brilliantly Observed Comedy

Rating: 10/10 (1 September 2004)

This may sound odd, but what makes this comedy about Londoners fending off zombies with vinyl albums and cricket bats so terribly funny is that it's so utterly believable. Every character is someone you know; every interaction is something you've experienced; every emotion is one you know. Except with flesh-eating zombies.
A brilliantly observed comedy, 'Shaun of the Dead' makes shrewd points about the nature of mass media and consumer culture, the banality of everyday life, love, friendship, fear, and heroism. It also pokes fun at traditional zombie movies, with the undead moving so slowly that Shaun and Ed have time to go through their album collection to determine which records are too precious to be slung at their shuffling assailants. The humour is occasionally gross, but always funny; the observations about how real people would react to an entirely surreal situation are spot on.
An instant comedy classic.