Best zombie comedy ever!

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2004)

Shaun and Ed are two twenty-something slacker roommates. Shaun spends his days working, playing video games, and hanging out at the pub. Ed does pretty much the same thing, except for the working part. Shaun's world takes a turn for the worse when, sensing that their life is going nowhere, his girlfriend Liz breaks up with him. Then things really get bad when zombies start showing up in his neighborhood (and everywhere else).
Soon after realizing that The Dead Are Walking The Earth (nothing gets by these blokes), Shaun and Ed decide to rescue Shaun's mother and father (excuse me, that's step-father), Liz and her two roommates, and find a safe place to hole up, which turns out to be the pub, of course. In the course of this, they have to fend off zombies with everything from cricket bats to record albums. Predictably, things just go from bad to worse for the team.
Shaun Of The Dead is a rare creature: a film that effectively mixes humor and horror. I haven't seen a movie that does it this well since An American Werewolf In London. In the beginning there are lotsa laughs, giving way more and more to the horror elements as the film nears its conclusion. But even when things are at their most horrific this movie will surprise you with some hilarious bits. There are even a few moments that tug on the heartstrings a bit; something I hadn't expected at all.
Most of the performances are good, and the directing, camera-work and editing are all great. The brilliant script is filled with sharp-edged satire (many of the humans in the beginning are very zombie-like to begin with), and jokes aplenty. One of my favorite bits is when Shaun and Ed are fending off a couple of zombies with records from Shaun's collection, choosing only the bad ones to fling at the undead:
Ed: Purple Rain Shaun: No Ed: Stone Roses Shaun: Definitely not. Ed: Batman soundtrack? Shaun: Throw it.
If you have a strong stomach and a good sense of humor, you should see this movie, and soon.