Saturday, October 30, 2010

A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies: Shaun of the Dead

By Lizzi

If you're looking for a little comic relief on Halloween, look no further than Shaun of the Dead. One of the reasons I hate horror films is the fact that they're all the same. What's marvelous about Shaun of the Dead is that it's a zombie movie, but with comedy. The tagline actually describes itself as "A romantic comedy. With zombies."

Shaun (Simon Pegg) has a typical life. He lives with his best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), in London and has been dating his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), for the last three years. Shaun also has the typical low end job. He also is constantly annoyed with his stepdad (Bill Nighy). Liz begins feeling like their relationship is hitting a dead end, so she breaks up with Shaun. It seems as though things couldn't get much worse.

However, it does when zombies begin to hit the city. Shaun and Ed find themselves fighting off zombies in their own home. Then Shaun gets a phone call from his mom and finds out his stepdad has been bitten. Shaun comes up with a plan for he and Ed to get safe and make sure their loved ones are safe, too. They will go to Shaun's mom's house, kill his stepdad, get his mom, get Liz, go to the local bar for a pint and be safe. But things never go according to plan when zombies are involved...

The beauty of this film is the ability to have comedy and emotion. Frankly, when it comes to comedy, the British just do it better. The movie will be less of a scary movie and more of a gross out movie, as the scenes with zombies aren't so much scary, but definitely are gross. I recommend Shaun of the Dead for anyone looking for a little laughter this Halloween.

2 comments:

  1. I feel like every frame in this movie contains some hidden joke or self-reference. I watched some of the deleted scenes and they contain 'echos' of things other characters say in the final version of the movie. I just rewatched scott pilgrim and I noticed a lot more background jokes. Edgar Wright pays a lot of attention to detail and I love him for it.

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  2. Yeah, he's pretty amazing. Scott Pilgrim is probably my favorite of his. It's so completely different from everything else that's out today.

    ~Lizzi

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