Zombies on the Streets of London: Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead is one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in the past year. On the way out of the theater, I used the word “genius” several times during my giddy ramblings and pretending to be a zombie. Shaun of the Dead is hilarious, features important social commentary, has a great soundtrack, and even shows a clip of Morrissey! As far as silly movies go, it’s nearly perfect.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright borrow liberally from classic zombie flicks for this romantic zombedy. Shaun (Pegg) is an apathetic young man with a dead end job in an electronics boutique. His flatmates are giving him trouble at home as one is too serious and the other is too much of a slob. His girlfriend of three years dumps him for not being romantic enough, and his relationship with his mother is falling apart due to a dispute with his stepfather (Bill Nighy). To top it all off, England has been afflicted with a plague of zombies.

While Shaun is troubled by his personal crises, he doesn’t notice the zombie problem until one shows up in his garden. Even then, he and the ogre-like Ed (Nick Frost) think she’s just drunk. As we see in the first few scenes of the movie, most of modern life isn’t all that different from being un-dead. Shaun stumbles around and yawns and plays video games with Ed. Other people mindlessly scan food items at the supermarket, ride the bus expressionlessly, or drink themselves into a drunken stupor.

Shaun wanders through life hardly paying attention to anyone else. Shaun and Ed go to the same pub (The Winchester Arms) nearly every day and spend their time making up stories about the other patrons with whom they’ve never bothered to have a conversation. They don’t even pay any mind to the news, which has been talking about the zombie invasion for days. One of the cleverest sequences in the movie is when Shaun mindlessly flips through the channels on the television, ignoring it all, including news footage of zombie carnage and Morrissey singing “Panic.”

Actually, it’s odd that Shaun would skip over that Smiths classic when music is one of the few things he cares about. When they are deciding which records to use as weapons against the zombies, Shaun screams, “No!” when Ed suggests they use Purple Rain. When they are in the pub following Shaun’s breakup with Liz (Kate Ashfield), Shaun’s pain is exacerbated (you have to see the movie to understand the importance of that word) by “If You Leave me Now” playing on the jukebox. “It’s on random!” Ed exclaims. Shaun is finally cheered up by singing a brilliant drunken rendition of Duran Duran’s “White Lines” in the street on the way home. Queen is also featured prominently in the soundtrack.

Once Shaun and Ed figure out what’s going on, Shaun calls his mum and is horrified to learn that her husband Philip has been bitten in a dispute with their neighbors. Zombies kill their victims by biting them, and then the bitten party becomes a zombie when he/she comes back from the dead. Armed with a cricket bat and a shovel, the two unlikely heroes head over to rescue Shaun’s mum. Shaun decides that he’ll take this opportunity to try to win back Liz, as well. Liz’s flatmate Dianne (Lucy Davis a.k.a. Dawn -- of the Dead? -- from The Office) and her boyfriend David (Dylan Moran, who is adorable and Irish) are Shaun doubters and want to stay at home, but Shaun insists on bringing everyone to the Winchester. With the streets of London teeming with zombies, it’s not an easy journey, even in Philip’s Jaguar.

Pegg and Frost’s acting is fantastic. Their expressions and camaraderie seem very natural, and they portray a full range of emotions. I felt that the script could have given bit more life to Dianne and David, but Dianne does have one moment of glory when she teaches the rest of the gang to act like zombies -- “vacant with a hint of sadness.” The romantic comedy part of the film is predictable, but I didn’t mind because Shaun is such a likable character.

My main criticism is that Shaun of the Dead has a bit too much tragedy in its plot than it should. It’s a light rom-com (rom-zom?), but there are a few moments that are simply too heavy.

Shaun of the Dead is also chock full of references and homages to horror movies (and Reservoir Dogs) and British television, so if you are familiar with those, you’ll probably appreciate the movie even more. See the trivia section on the S of the D IMDB entry for all the intertextuality.

The Scary Factor

I am a total wimp when it comes to horror movies. I even close my eyes during previews. So while I was interested in seeing Shaun of the Dead for its British comedy, I was worried it would be too scary. Thankfully, a couple of my friends saw it first and assured me that it wouldn’t give me nightmares. There’s definitely a good deal of blood and gore, but I was never scared.


Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age