Shaun of the Dead (UK)
| release date | September 24 2004 |
| studio | Universal/Rogue/Focus |
| director | Edgar Wright |
| writer | Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg |
| starring | Simon Pegg |
| rating | R |
| tagline | A romantic comedy. With zombies. |
| site | shaunofthedeadmovie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
1 Comments
Wicked cool fun! First Simon Pegg movie I ever saw and I’m glad I did. Still makes me a bit squiggy at parts but ya learn to roll with it. The only place they can think of to hide out is the pub…..Hee, hee, hee
Meant to put 10/10 for the other.
THIS MOVIE WA AWESOME!
Excellent.
the scene where they pretend to be zombies is classic. especially the moms face
one of the funniest horror movies of all time, if not the funniest, a very original take on the zombie genre and actually brought a new entertaining take on the sub genre, these guys were wonderful in hot fuzz as well!
This is a bloody hilarious movie. I never thought a British comedy could be so funny. A definate ‘must see’ movie.
This is my fovorite COMEDY of all time and also my favorite ZOMBIE MOVIE of all time.
EXCELLENT.
oh the british and thier zombie movies!
Simon Pegg is the man
I love zombies and when you add Simon Pegg to it just plan hilarious to see… Shaun of the dead is funny, has flesh eating obstacles, and a fat pain in the ass of a friend… If you like zombies definitely put this on your TV… must see
shaun of the dead is so exceptional.
it was funny and it was a clever visionary tale of a zombie film. i loved this movie so much.
it had me laughing throughout the whole movie.
dont even rent this movie, save up your money and buy this delightful zombie film because you are sure to absolutely love it.
Second best zombie/comedy I have seen (first is Braindead).
funny funny funny
PEGG + FROST = AWESOME!!!
Definitely one of the BEST Horror Comedies ever made.
I loved this movie, going into this I though it would of been a stupid spoof movie, I never seen the trailer for it, but when I saw it, it was a great movie that had some comedic value to it. Best comedic horror movie that I have seen ever.
whats not to like?
A great horror comedy.
Edgar Wright is the kind of guy who I would best describe as nice. A director of comedy films – always has, always will be, I hope – , it’s surprising that one of the genre’s greatest minds working today does not succumb to the universal demands of the folks overseas. A filmmaker working primarily in his homeland United Kingdom, Wright isn’t one to rely on gross-out gags or excessively crude humor. He does however seem to like blood a whole lot. But that’s one of the simple pleasures of a great many artists. Wright achieved fame in his native country with his television program “Spaced”, although it wasn’t until he made “Shaun of the Dead” that the modern comic genius made his debut into worldwide sensationalism. This was the film that put him on the map, as a name to look out for in the future; his name was a selling point in itself for all his other directorial (and non-directorial) features to follow. Nevertheless, I like to think of this as the one that started it all; the madness, the hilarity, the ingenuity, the blood and the ice-cream. You know what I mean.
The titular hero, Shaun (Simon Pegg), is an almost fascinatingly lazy and hopelessly clueless man. He’s a slacker, shares a flat in London with his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) – who’s admittedly a bit of a useless turd himself – and goes through life day by day with a rinse-repeat philosophy on his mind, or not. He’s able to uphold a decent job at a retail shop with indecent people, but he’s not so lucky in his love life. Not too long after the story opens, Shaun’s girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) breaks up with the hero, finding him to be incompetent. She believes that if they remain partners, they’ll both end up drowning their sorrow and boredom in alcohol at the local pub – The Winchester – for the rest of their lives. She’s probably right, even if Shaun has no complaints or regrets.
Things are not looking all too well for Shaun. He plans to get drunk with Ed for the next few days – and probably lie around the house a little – to try and get the breakup off his mind. These plans are interrupted when people start falling unconscious on the streets at random, old men start eating pigeons in the park, and seemingly drunk convenience store clerks are mysteriously ending up in Sean’s backyard. It soon becomes clear that this is not just rapid public drunkenness; the newscaster on the television explains that this is the start of a full-fledged zombie apocalypse. After realizing that they aren’t quite safe at all where they stand, both Shaun and Ed devise a plan to round up Liz, her roommates Dianne (Lucy Davis) and David (Dylan Moran), and Shaun’s mom (Penelope Wilton) so that they can ensure a chance at survival. Shaun just hopes he won’t have to take his stepfather (Bill Nighy) – whom he passionately loathes – along with them for the trip.
The first half of the film is devoted to build-up. The opening titles sequence depicts an almost emotionally desolate London in which life is forever repetitive, contrived, and almost robotic; people are essentially zombie-like even without the craving for human flesh. Shaun is no different, and there are two prolonged scenes – almost identical in visual style – in which he leaves the house, picks up a beer at the supermarket, and plops back down on the couch again. Then…there’s panic on the streets of London. Now, the second half of the film is set after the group that Shaun has gotten together avoids the “panic”. They set up camp in the Winchester for a while, hoping that they will be safe, even though a window has been shattered. They should be fine; they’ve got food, alcohol, and look, even a shotgun over the bar that gave the pub its name.
“Shaun of the Dead” is my payoff for all those countless days, hours, and weeks spent watching or just THINKING about zombie movies. The title itself is of course a play on a certain George Romero genre classic, and there are little in-jokes and clever references to past zombie flicks scattered throughout this one. So if you know your stuff about the genre, look out for those; and you’ll have an even better time than what is already guaranteed. Even without the references, there are enough laugh-out-loud moments and jokes to more than keep the film afloat. Wright seems to enjoy visual gags the most; which is apparent in scenes like the one where the group walks through London to get to the pub disguised as the undead (they try their hand at convincing moaning noises and jolted bodily movements), as well as another where Shaun and Ed go to town on some bloodthirsty zombies hanging around their backyard…by throwing Shaun’s entire LP record collection in their general direction.
It’s ultraviolent, bloody, and you’d better bet that it’s sometimes quite profane (one of my favorite scenes is a non-stop barrage of four-letter words). But it’s also one of the more absorbing comedies out there. I cannot simply count how many times I’ve seen and thoroughly enjoyed the film but I can tell you right now that it’s been a while. I’m glad I finally revisited the film; for it’s one of those special viewings where you feel like you’re revisiting every last location presented in the actual movie. From the Winchester to Shaun’s flat, to the individual scenes of humor that take place in between and within them; everything felt familiar, but in a good way. If I already know and anticipate the joke(s), but they still manage to make me laugh until it hurts, you know a movie has been taken completely to heart. It’s one of the few comedies that completely immersed me in its universe. You remember the names of the smaller characters long after you’ve survived Z-day.
Case in point, the film has not changed on bit from the last time I saw it until now. “Shaun of the Dead” remains a bloody good time at the movies; the kind of flick that will someday (deservingly) spawn some sort of cult following (it already has, somewhat). If you are in need of a very fine introduction to Wright’s hilarious and wholly impressive body of work, this would be the movie to get you started. It may not be loved by all, but you’d have to be a sourpuss to reject it completely. After all, one should know how to accurately distinguish a good homage/genre spoof from a bad one. What I like most about the film is that it mixes genuine atmosphere, scares, and drama with brilliant comedy that ranges from physical to dialogue-driven antics. If it had tried any harder, it might have failed; but then again, why let the thought even cross my mind in the first place?