Stuck in a boring, meaningless existence where the only venue is the local pub, it’s no wonder that Shaun (Simon Pegg) is miserable, that his girlfriend dumps him or that he almost completely fails to notice the invasion of shuffling reanimated corpses.
Shaun of the Dead is a very funny and sharp British comedy from the writers and director of Spaced (a first-class UK sitcom) based loosely on the George Romero film Dawn of the Dead. After Shaun and his hopeless friend Ed (Nick Frost) eventually discover the zombie threat, Shaun gets his arse in gear and plans to rescue his parents, girlfriend and friends and take them somewhere safe – the pub.
The script shines with nuggets of golden dialogue, and takes the characters and plot much further than Spaced did. It never feels like a TV show – between the jokes the tension is built very effectively and there are some genuinely scary moments, and the special effects work (including some impressive blood and gore) is excellent. The film has a very British feel, so it might be interesting to see if it has similar success when it’s shown in other countries.
Overall a fantastic film, especially if you’re into zombie movies or Spaced.
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