Shaun of the Dead

Dir: Edgar Wright

2004

*****

Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's Shaun of the Dead is probably in the top five funniest British films of all time. It is definitely the best British Zombie film of all time, competition is minimal but the genre is gaining popularity and some fantastic additions have been made as a result of its success. On a personal level I would have to say that Shaun of the Dead is one of my very favourite cinema experiences and was the only time I've actually rolled on the floor with laughter (you can ask my sister, she was in the floor next to me). It’s an absolutely brilliant homage to George A. Romero's Zombie films but while it spoofs them all, it does so in a very affectionate manner. Indeed, both Wright and Pegg (dressed as Shuan) appear in Romero's Land of the Dead as a sign of mutual respect. Shaun of the Dead is pretty much a continuation of Wright and Pegg's TV series Spaced that was about a group of twenty-somethings finding their way through life and about every pop-culture reference you can think of that would appeal to like-minded twenty-somethings. The premise that it is a about a man who tries to win back his girlfriend during a zombie apocalypse could have easily have come from a Space episode, indeed it did, and most of the Spaced cast appear and if you look closely even some of the character can be spotted, albeit in zombie form. The reason I think Shaun of the Dead works so well and appeals to so many is, not just because it is written by and performed by people who are both funny and know their zombie films, but because it is based in an unlikely place. We don't have guns in the UK, you rarely see a wood-chipper either and I'm pretty sure are lawn mowers aren't as powerful as they are in the States. If (when) the zombie apocalypse happens we are going to have to get inventive as Shaun and best mate Ed (Nick Frost) did. There is something uniquely British and nerdy about choosing which records out of one’s collection you should throw at a zombies head. Being a British nerd it appealed greatly. The references to other zombie film come thick and fast, so if you're a fan of the genre you will find the film a treat from beginning to end. As well as friends from the Spaces cast, Wright and Pegg chose the best talents of British TV comedy of the day including Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman (The Office), Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig (Black Books), Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentleman), Matt Lucas (Little Briton) as well as many blink and you'll miss them comedians who cameo as zombies such as Joe Cornish, Rob Brydon, Paul Putner and Russell Howard. I think what I love best about Shaun of the Dead is that although it is ridiculous, it's also quite realistic. What would most Brits do under the circumstances? Go to the pub is probably the first choice for a large cross section of society. The zombie genre had been well explored up to this point and while it coin the sub-genre the rom-com-zom, it also opened it up to so many more possibilities. Sometimes it take a relatively simple film made on a relatively small budget to show the way and that is what Shaun of the Dead did. Hugely influential, brilliantly inventive and downright hilarious. A modern classic.