An undead ringer for a dead funny film.

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2006)

What do you do when Zombies attack? Throw Sade records at them, of course. If you can't kill them, at least you'll put them to sleep. So begins the first line of defense against the undead in Edgar Wright's sometimes cheeky, often sentimental zombie flick, Shaun of the Dead.
The film stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, a loser who decides it's time to take control of his life and relationships just as the world happens to be suddenly overrun by the living dead. It also stars Kate Ashfield as Liz, his girlfriend who wants more than endless nights at the local pub, and Nick Frost as Ed, Shaun's long time best friend whose crude nature rightfully annoys those around Shaun.
The story begins with Liz expressing her concern over her relationship with Shaun. They spend their evenings at the Winchester, a local pub of questionable repute. Liz is ready for Shaun to grow up a little, and for the next phase in their lives together. Shaun fails to prove his commitment to change and Liz decides it's time to move on, just before zombies overrun the world. Heartwarming hilarity ensues as Shaun begins to finally show his resolve and rescue his close friends and family from the undead.
Thematically, one of the film's central insights shows that those who resign themselves to apathy may as well be dead (or in this case, undead). This theme is particularly evident in a climatic scene where Shaun and the remaining members of his group are barricaded in The Winchester. Shaun's mother, Barbara, reveals that she's been bitten by a zombie and dies. David, Shaun's antagonist and friend of Liz, berates Shaun and cruelly tells him to kill his mother. His apathy enrages Shaun, who punches him after killing his zombified mother. The director, Edgar Wright, uses a high angle shot to catch David's reaction further emphasizing David's cowardly and low nature. Before David has a chance to fully come to terms with his apathetic nature and apologize to Shaun, zombies abduct him, illustrating the theme of apathy being a kind of death. Wright employs other film elements throughout the picture that may support this theme as well. For example, prior to the zombie invasion, Shaun and Ed say, "you're dead" or "the next time I see him, he's dead" in a you're-a-goner manner to several other characters in the film who each turn into zombies later. This small ironic motif may be Wright's way of further illustrating Shaun's perception of others' apathy.
Of course, this review would be remiss without mentioning George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, a cult classic that also makes similar social commentary as zombies roam the American shopping mall in search of flesh, brains, and the best sales in town. While Wright's Shaun is a more tongue-in-cheek approach, the similarities are clear, and there are numerous subtle references to Romero's work throughout.
Shaun of the Dead is not a typical horror parody, nor is it a typical romantic comedy. By utilizing different film elements, Wright actually makes a clever social commentary. Defying the horror genre by incorporating elements of comedy and romance, Shaun of the Dead proves many times over that apathy is perhaps the most unfortunate living death.