Shaun of the Dead

Bloody Hillarious




Director: Edgar Wright

Release Date: 2004

Rating: 15
Running time: 99mins

Genre: Comedy/Horror
Actors: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Kate Ashfield

For my first review I thought I’d start with something lighthearted but creditable all the same. I saw ‘Shaun of the Dead’ for the first time when I was 9 years old and I found it completely horrifying but at the same time I could not stop laughing the whole way through. I found it hard not to fall in love with the comedy double act straight from the word go, as every line they came out with had me in stitches. It’s safe to say that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost really hit the ground running with their first installment in their fantastically funny ‘Cornetto Trilogy’. The originality of it for me was amazing and I love the way that ‘Shaun of The Dead’ still gets referred to in Pegg and Frost’s films and how it’s still regarded so highly as a British comedy nearly 10 years on.

For a bit of background into what the films actually about we’re introduced to Shaun (Simon Pegg) trying to win back the heart of his recently ex-girlfriend, Liz, as well as her uptight and judgmental friends, Dianne and David. To make problems even worse for Shaun has to try to keep his friendship with his old best mate, Ed (Nick Frost), who is a drug dealing bum that is constantly landing Shaun in trouble with his housemate, Pete, a hard up business man due to his lack of common sense and sheer laziness. Plus to make matters even worse for Shaun, he must try and manage all this whilst also trying to survive a zombie apocalypse that’s developing in the middle of London. Shaun and Ed decide the best thing to do is to rescue Liz and Shaun’s mum and go to the safest place for any man to be…The pub, where they can wait for all of it to blow over, or so they think.

I find this film so fantastically funny through the way that it shows how simple the situation could be for them, but instead, through lack of thought and Ed’s laziness they end up making the situation very complicated for themselves. What I think really added to the comedy in this film is the fact that ‘Shaun of the Dead’, minus the zombies and gore, is just a love story about two people and their annoying friends. The zombie aspect tied in with this really symbolizes for me how routine and laziness makes the world seem like everyone already is a zombie, so ironically when the apocalypse comes about in the film it’s hard to see any different from before.

I think it's fair to say ‘Shaun of the Dead’ is a hilarious and outrageously smart comedy horror that will certainly have you both cringing and laughing for the whole film. If you’re a fan of dark British humor and enjoy slapstick gore it’s definitely worth checking this one out. Also a must see if you like 'Shaun of the Dead' would be the next two instalments in the 'Cornetto Trilogy' - 'Hot Fuzz' and 'The Worlds End' as Pegg and Frost still have a lot more to offer!

8/10