Shaun of the Dead Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)November 8th, 2004
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
SHAUN OF THE DEAD is a well executed one-joke movie. But, even it's a good joke, it's only one joke. Once the zombies arrive, which is early on in this zombie spoof, you can watch any ten minutes of the movie and get the full comedic effect. Spending more time with these wimpy undead, who move at about 60 i.p.m. (inches per minute), doesn't add to your viewing pleasure, it just repeats the same funny moments, like listening to an old record that gets stuck in a groove.
Shaun (Simon Pegg), Ed (Nick Frost) and Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) are three doofus buddies who share a slovenly kept house. Playing video games like they did when they were teens a decade or two ago, they are oblivious to what is happening until the zombies show up and refuse to leave. Scrambling to come up with a plan, Shaun hits on the idea of hiding out someplace safe and someplace where Ed can smoke -- their favorite pub. Pete doesn't get to go along since he has already been bitten. As Shaun and Ed whack one slow moving undead after another with their garden shovel and cricket mallet, the body count rises. As the television news reporter explains, all you need to do to stop these monsters is to smash their heads.
I laughed for a while, but I quickly found myself hoping for some cataclysmic disaster that would wipe out everyone -- the living and the undead. Lots of a slightly funny thing is not funnier. It's just tiresome. But, if stumbling zombies are all it takes to float your boat, SHAUN OF THE DEAD could be just the monster movie for you.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD runs a long 1:39. It is rated R for "zombie violence/gore and language" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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