Shaun of the Dead

Starring: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Comedy
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A 30 year old Londoner (Simon Pegg) realizes his life is going no where about the same time that his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield) leaves him. Just when he decides he needs to do something, the dead rise up and he must fight to survive and save his now ex-girlfriend from becoming the living dead.

Review:

Tim: This is not a particularly good movie. I disagree with all the critics that loved it. There is quite a bit of novelty in the idea of a zombie movie as a comedy, but this film is a little too weak to be called an outright success.

The major flaw is just that the movie isn't very funn at all. Perhaps our friends across the ocean call this humor, but here in America, this movie just doesn't make us laugh.

As far as zombie movies go, this one is pretty smart. It achieves humor by making the zombies so slow-moving as to be silly rather than scary. It definitely pokes fun at the slew of zombie moves popping up everwhere. This is where the film succeeds most.

The biggest weakness is that there really isn't a compelling reason for us to watch- we only mildly care about the characters, so their survival isn't our biggest concern. Even the climactic final stand can't really get our attention.

Shaun of the Dead keeps us mildly entertained, but is far too much like its antagonists- not too intelligent, a bit slow, and not something you want to get too close to.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead