Movie #43 Shaun of the Dead

I talk about being behind on my blogs and then I go missing for a week.  Sorry.  Life happens.  Death happens too.  And sometimes, as evidence by this review, it is harder to tell the difference between than you might think.  The review is Edgar Wright's 2004 zombie movie Shaun of the Dead.

This is one of my favorite films from that year.  Shaun is in a state of arrested development.  he can't commit to his girlfriend.  He has a no where job.  He is still living with a dead beat roommate.  He hates his step father.  And he spends all his available time a pub called the Winchester.  Sound like anyone you know?  My guess is that if you are between the ages of 28 and 36 it sounds like almost everyone you know.  But Shaun mundane life is about to change.

A wide spread plague and panic is about to overtake his little town as well all of England.  The dead are rising from their graves and devouring human flesh.  At first Shaun seems numb to this. All of his daily activities stay the same, but the surroundings have changed.  Shaun is so self absorbed that he doesn't realize it.  Once he is confronted with the imposing apocalypse he is forced to develop a plan to save his mum, girlfriend, and flatmate.  A slacker turned hero.

The team of Edgar Wright, Simon Peg (Shaun) and Nick Frost (Ed) were paired together for a hilarious BBC program called Spaced.  In Spaced they used every cinematic trick up their sleeves to parody pop culture elements from all mediums.  The same goes for Shaun of the Dead.  They do stick to zombie movie troupes more than anything else, but there are a few TV and video game references thrown in there as well.  The film succeeds because it parodies the zombie movies without spoofing them.  It is clear that there is a deep love and respect for the source material.

Everything about Shaun of the Dead is top notch.  The writing is sharp, witty and funny without being too precious.  The acting is great.  Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing.  Therefore the directing is great.  The camera is in the right place at the right time.  The edits match the action which is paced very well.  The soundtrack is out of this world accumulating to a zombie attack to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.

This was Wrights first major film.  He has since done Hot Fuzz and this years Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (review soon to come).  I like zombie movies, but I am not a fanatic.  Mostly because very few of them are as good as this one.  I give Shaun of the Dead a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the link below for the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhBGFqldAvk