Shaun of the Dead

Next on the 100 film bucket list is the first of the “Cornetto” trilogy film, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s zombie comedy, Shaun of the Dead.

Pegg plays Shaun, a man in his late 20’s, living an average life who rents a flat with school friends Ed (Nick Frost) and Pete (Peter Serafinowicz). He also has a frustrated girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) who has had enough of his lack of attention and care to their relationship and the thought of one more night in the local pub, the Winchester, becomes too much. Shaun doesn’t have time to process this, because in the background something is sweeping the people of the city turning the population into Zombies. This is Shaun’s and Ed’s chance to do something, as they head out into the city to rescue Liz, her friends, Shaun’s mum (Penelope Wilton) and stepdad (Bill Nighy) and take them to the safe haven of the Winchester.

Shaun of the Dead is a funny and smart “horror” comedy, light on the horror, but with plenty of laughs. There’s some lovely subtlety in the opening act as we see people going about their lives, looking like the undead, would we even notice a zombie apocalypse!? This is coupled with the foreboding background news with stories in papers and on TV of strange behaviour sweeping the city.

When the Zombies finally and literally turn up on Shaun and Ed’s lawn then we commence with a classic zombie style adventure which retains its humour with a selection of comedic ways of stopping the Zombie hoards.

Performances are solid, the script humorous and lean, with pacing that zips along. Of course in true Wright style we also get a fabulous soundtrack to accompany the Zombie based fun.

Shaun of the Dead is a entertaining romp, there is plenty of smart subtle humour alongside the more obvious comedy violence. A cult classic and still remains a fresh and funny watch.