Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead, one of the most popular zombie comedy films out there. When you think cannibalistic comedy, you think Shaun of the Dead. The British humour sadly limits it somewhat (as different nations have different comedy), but for the average Englishman, its bound to have you in stitches. With exaggerated gore and delightfully stupid characters, it is a must-see.
The film is one of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, automatically catapulting the movie ahead of other films. Written by and starring Simon Pegg, he appears with his ever-present partner in crime, Nick Frost. Shaun (Pegg) is in a troubled relationship with Liz (Kate Ashfield). They split and, as if to punish them, the zombie apocalypse begins over night. Ed (Frost) is Shaun's dopey best friend who always seems to make things worse for them. Liz's best friends are Dianne (Lucy Davis), who is a 'failed actress', and David (Dylan Moran), who is in love with Liz but is in a relationship with Dianne because she 'knocked [him] back'. This, like Zombieland, revolves mostly around the characters and the bonds between them than the zombies, albeit the gore is over the top and used excessively. Since it's one of the BIC trilogy, it had a part for Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy, who appear in all of the films.
One of the most astounding things about Shaun of the Dead is that it was a remarkably low budget film, like its successors. Despite the fact that the film is shot in London, it's a remote part, and much of the film was shot on set since there is a lot of screening time for the pub, Shaun's house, Liz's apartment and Barbara's (Penelope Wilton) home. Obviously, Jaguars are expensive, but they seem to have no qualms with trashing it. The gore is very obviously faked and the pulling apart of a certain character (no spoilers!) is utterly unrealistic, but the film wasn't created to be realistic; it was created to make people laugh and scoff at the stupidity of the characters - all of them completely British.
Shaun of the Dead is certainly the best zombie comedy film that I've been fortunate to watch. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the co-writer, have crafted a genius piece of British comedy with a nice dose of zombies. Its script is brilliant and the casting is perfect. This movie, like The Blair Witch Project, confirms the fact that low budget films still have the potential to make a change to the typical horror genre.
