Shaun of the Dead

Having not been privy to the advertising campaign pushing this film, I went into Edgar Wright's comedy/horror flick Shaun of the Dead with little pretense. The film involves the lowly, dead-end job holding Shaun (Simon Pegg) being in the midst of a zombie epidemic trying to save his mom (Penelope Wilton), his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), her roommates David and Di (Dylan Moran & Lucy Davis) and his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) with an ill-fated plan to hold up in their favorite pub, the Winchester. Obviously, the whole play goes awry and comedy ensues.

Having coincidentally just watched The Simpsons Halloween Special III where Bart raises the dead, made me notice the few subtle standard zombie motif's in Shaun of the Dead. The film, as well as the cartoon, both have many subtle and not so subtle references to the drudgery of real life and media. Many moments in the film depict people acting like zombies checking their cell phones, going to work, drinking at the pub. While I'm sure that Edgar Wright had these in mind, I felt it gave the picture a slight amount of substance beyond the comedic flight of a band of unwitting zombie slayers. Its slight critique, while being obvious and slightly hackneyed, buoyed the film from run of the mill, to slightly engaging.

The film, as a whole, was quite entertaining and only felt sluggish for a few minutes here and there. Its quick wit and the main character's humbleness worked well to establish a solid ground from some self-deprecating humor and emotional connections. There was a slight problem with the print of the film towards the end where it became tremendously grainy. I'm not sure if this was a real problem or some sort of homage to old-school horror flicks.

Overall, Shaun of the Dead runs solid with a cast that works out well and turns out to be a fun, entertaining time. Just remember that it's a comedy and so its depth and drama is limited. A fan of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films will definitely get a good ride at the movies.

Movie Grade: B+

Synopsis:

In this film, which is at once a romantic comedy, and a parody of various recent zombie flicks like 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead,
a group of friends find themselves thrown into a battle against hell-bent zombies.