Shaun of the Dead Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)September 27th, 2004
Shaun of the Dead
Matinee with Snacks
I am struggling right now to think why I did not give this movie Full Price Feature. The only movie this year that comes close to how much sheer,unadulterated fun I had in the theatre was 13 Going on 30. (Just watch it - you'll understand). My (female) companion and I were in raptures when the lights came up, and all the way back to the car. One of my personal major indicators was the impulse to call everyone I know to tell them how great it was, immediately, before my memory dims and I doubt myself. (You, Constant Readers, occasionally suffer the consequences of this.) Before long, my companion and I had to call each other back just to reiterate and relive the excitement. I even convinced a friend who is so very much not into these types of movies to give it a chance.
You may be thinking, uh, it's another zombie movie. Another British zombie movie, if you want to include 28 Days Later, which I do. Yes, but it is also a comedy, a parody of zombie movies, like Scream was a horror-comedy parody of horror movies. Shaun of the Dead makes fun of zombie movies, loves them, and pays homage to them, even while you double over in laughter. One particular thing our band of survivors did (not their slightly superior and more successful doppelgangers, mind you) was something I had always wished someone would do in a zombie movie. You may have similar feelings when you see the various gentle and knee slapping laughs.
It's being billed also as a romantic comedy, but it's not Rotting Hill - it's definitely a zombie adventure movie first. Many of the actors you will recognize from various Working Title romantic comedies, but don't fret, fellas - it's got plenty of mindless gore too. We begin as every zombie movie is compelled to - by showing the real-life zombification of our every day world, but the change (implicit when the undead start looking for lunch) is much drier and British than you can imagine.
Co-written by star Simon Pegg (Shaun) and diector Edgar Wright, and shot for 4 million pounds over nine and a half weeks, Shaun of the Dead is like that movie you wanted to make with your best friend when you were nine but lacked the talent and resources. It would have all the best ideas in it, be completely fearless and hilarious, and feel like an afternoon fooling in the park with your buddies. Except it actually looks really expensive and is well-written and absolutely successful in its mission.
If you see one zombie movie ever, make it Shaun of the Dead. If you love zombie movies, you simply cannot skip Shaun of the Dead. And if you're neutral, what's stopping you, it's hilarious! Addendum: I saw the film a second time before its release and if you know what's coming, it does lose a glimmer of its charm in being so delightfully novel in its balance of action, comedy, and romance, but first time viewers should have no such complaints. Make sure your kitsch gland is functioning properly before viewing, it's a necessity.
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These reviews (c) 2004 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can check out previous reviews at:
http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource
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