Comedic brilliance

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2007)

Utterly brilliant horror/comedy with one of the smartest screenplays in recent memory and some great visuals. Every scene in the film is either a reference to another horror film or a foreshadowing of what to come, and it works perfectly. The humour is very dry but very sharp, making it very unlike a film like Anchorman while remaining just as funny as that. The direction and editing are surprisingly fresh for a comedy, and the gore effects are great fun. Add to that some terrific acting, especially by Nick Frost as the big comedic lug and Bill Nighy as the evil stepdad, great use of music - "Don't Stop Me Now", anyone? - and some great dialogue, and this is one of my favourite comedies ever and certainly one of the funniest films of the new millennium.