Hilarious, entertaining, enjoyable, but has an obvious plot

Rating: 7/10 (25 January 2007)

Mix horror, romance, a big dose of dark British humour  and you get a deadly concoction  you get Shaun of the Dead.
Spoof movies so often fail with me, especially the Hollywood variety, such as Scary Movie, where you see the humour flying out at you from a mile away. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant about watching this movie. I only did so because my brother had it on DVD and insisted that I saw it. I also remember it being released in UK cinemas about the same time as the remake of the 70s zombie thriller, Dawn of the Dead, which I found disappointing and put me off watching zombie movies for a long time. But with Shaun of the Dead, I was pleasantly surprised.
It starts with Shaun, the protagonist, played by screen-writer/funny-man, Simon Pegg. He's twenty-nine, stuck in a dead-end job, his seventeen year old colleague makes fun of him, he has an awkward flatmate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz), he hates his scrutinising step-father Philip (Bill Nighly), he has issues with his mother Barbara (Penelope Winton), his lazy best-mate Ed holds him back in life (Nick Frost), he gets dumped by his girlfriend Jenny (Kate Ashfield) and he spends all day in the Winchester Pub. Yes, Shaun is in a bit of a rut. Then one night, without ever really knowing why, Shaun's locality becomes 'neighbourhood of the living dead'. He is at first oblivious to it all, suffering from a hangover, but soon he realises that zombies are after his blood and he has to buck up his ideas quickly to survive. For once in Shaun's life, he has a plan. With Ed as his side-kick and armed with a cricket bat, a spade and a box of old records (which, by the way, make amusing ninja weapons to fend off zombies), and he goes to save his mum and Jenny in Pete's car. Where does he plan to take them to safety? That's right  the Mecca of Shaun's life and the focal point of the film - the Winchester pub. On the way, Shaun picks up Philip and Jenny's house-mates David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis).
The film contains what you expect from a horror, British comedy and romance (kind of); blood, gore, action, slapstick, sarcasm, a witty script, a love interest and, sadly, an obvious plot, but I will talk more about that later.
It has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, such as when Shaun and Ed realise the first zombie they meet isn't actually a drunk girl, but a dead person who wants their blood. And when the group pretend to behave like zombies so they don't bring attention to themselves from the living dead. You will learn there is more than one use to a garden swing-ball. The end is also charming, but I don't want to speak about that.
The acting is convincing for a spoof movie. Especially the lazy, rather obnoxious, Ed, played by Nick Frost, who decides to have a friendly chat on a mobile phone with a mate while surrounded by zombies. He plays your annoying fat mate who slows your life down, but is full of clever quips every now and again. He would also go off on hilarious rants with Shaun about, well, not a fat lot. I wouldn't say there were many outstanding performances or Oscar nominations in the movie though, but the movie was not made for awards. It was made to make you laugh, which is what you will undoubtedly be doing. So therefore, the co-writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (the same team who made the comedy TV-series Spaced and the new movie the Big Fuzz) have certainly achieved their aim.
Now back to the plot. For someone who is not a big fan of spoof movies, the storyline was so obvious, I only had to glance at the title of the movie to guess what was going to happen, and without wanting to ruin the movie for you, I was right. I can't decide if it was a spoof movie of Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later, but that's of little importance, the plot is too similar, for my liking anyway.
I'm not the prude sort, and I think when violence, blood and expletives are used correctly, it can make a good film. I don't think Shaun of the Dead was over-run by it, but I do think it maybe should have warranted more than a 15 certificate. I do not think the film is everybody's cup of tea. The sarcasm and the wittiness I particularly liked, and the fact it was a fun, chill-out film to watch. But British humour, especially the sarcasm, and the violence and the swearing, can be hit and miss with many people. I also think more can have been done with Bill Nighly's, Dylan Moran's and Martin Freeman's characters. They are great actors and had relatively small roles than what their reputations deserve. I think Martin Freeman only had two words to say in the whole film. Maybe the actors only wanted small roles, I don't know. But I felt they were wasted, only a little as there was much more talent in the film that made up for it.
There might be something else that you unexpectedly take away from this movie. The film may motivate you, to give you a 'kick up the posterior' and change your life. For Shaun, it took a town full of zombies to make him do this. I certainly hope it takes considerably less than that for the majority of you.
To conclude, as I said before, I'm not a fan of spoofs, due to predictable plots and story lines, but this is way above its contemporaries. It's British. It's different. And it's dead funny; so funny you'll be laughing beyond the grave.