Film Reviews - Shaun of the Dead
If you are really in the mood for a good laugh then I’d
recommend you go and watch Shaun of the Dead.
What you’ve got here is a horror/comedy, which is scary in parts
but above all really funny.
The film is not quite so "in your face" as the Scary Movie
series – with Scary Movie the idea is to hit the viewer with as
many jokes both visual and verbal in the shortest time possible,
as long as the viewer gets only 25% of these he/she will laugh.
With Shaun of the Dead you’ve got a slightly more structured
comedy.
Trust me, there is still plenty to laugh at but the advantage is
that you’ll get to laugh at each joke rather than missing 75% of
them.
If you enjoyed "Spaced" on Channel 4 then there is no doubt at
all that you’ll enjoy this.
The plot is quite straight forward.
Shaun, a decent enough bloke spends far too much time with his
mates and not enough time with his girlfriend.
His long-suffering girlfriend Liz eventually leaves him to his
mates.
Then something extraordinary happens, the dead start walking the
earth – well parts of London anyway and this throws Shaun into
the role of a hero.
He must save the girl he now realises that he loves, even though
that probably means saving the lives of her two flatmates, the
failed actress and the twat.
Then he must go and save his dear mum and he must try to achieve
this before last orders so he can enjoy a cool pint down "The
Winchester" until this all blows over.
And so starts the main story.
A simple plan is hatched, Shaun (Simon Peg) and Ed (Nick Frost),
go to rescue Liz (Kate Ashfield).
At the same time they pick up David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne
(Lucy Davis) and then go off to rescue Shaun’s mum (Penelope
Wilton).
Shaun’s step-father (Bill Nighy) has been bitten so he’ll
probably need killing once they get to Shaun’s parents house –
"Go for the head, that seems to work".
Everyone then goes back to the local "The Winchester" where beer
can be drunk and they all live happily ever after.
The film is fast paced without too many dull moments.
The film also spawns numerous phrases and series of dialogue
that I can promise you now you’ll be repeating soon after you
leave the cinema.
The following lines may not sound funny:
"Do you want anything from the shop Ed?"
"Cornetto!"
Shaun: "I thought you'd tidied up?"
Ed: "yeah... but then I had a couple of beers."
But trust me; please don’t have a mouthful of popcorn as those
lines are uttered.
The people behind Shaun of the Dead have succeeded where others
in the past have failed.
This is NOT Spaced on the big screen, however it retains much of
the humour from that cult TV show.
Nor is this a "spoof" of Dawn of the Dead or other similar
zombie movies.
This film manages to give you humour, violence, action, romance,
more humour, decapitations, suspense, cricket bats, vinyl albums
and a few scares and all within ninety minutes, that really
isn’t bad going when you think about it.
With cameo appearances from the like of Martin Freeman, Tasmin
Greig, Matt Lucas & Jessica Stevenson (also of Spaced fame)
you’ll spend almost as much time "star spotting" as you do
laughing your head off.
This is by far the best film I’ve seen for a very long time.
There is nothing truly original about the film, however I feel
this is what makes it great.
It isn’t attempting to be groundbreaking or offering us CGI, the
likes of what we’ve never seen before.
This really is "A romantic comedy; with zombies".
It is an instant classic and is a real credit to the British
film industry.
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