Shaun Of The Dead - Comical Genuis, Peggs Best Yet! (Shaun Of The Dead (DVD))

Member Name: AndyCreighton

Product:	Shaun Of The Dead (DVD)
Date:	23/05/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Peggs Best Film To Date, Halarious Dark Comedy, Great Performances

Disadvantages: It Can Get Daft In Some Places

After watching Spaced I fell in love with Simon Peggs work, he is an absolute comedy genius of the highest calibre. I've watched the majority of his films however for some reason I haven't seen Shaun of the Dead until now and I must say it was well worth the wait. Possible one of the best comedies for years, Simon Pegg captures the essence of zombie B movies and turns it into a well crafted comedy film that should be watched for decades.

The story starts with a class 4 zombie outbreak in the UK, the whole country has been over run. Shaun and his friend Ed round together their relatives and friends and set out trying to survive what is basically the end of the world. I know what your thinking, sounds like basically any zombie film ever made right? Wrong. The whole film is laced with the dark, Simon Pegg style comedy we've all come to love. The genre of the film isn't a comedy, the film itself is a comedy. There are no jokes, no gags, no one liners, the comedy is found in the way Shaun of the Dead takes itself seriously while at the same time ripping the piss out of every zombie film made to date.
The cast is great, of course as I've mentioned Simon Pegg plays a great performance as Shaun. His friend Ed, played by Nick Frost is equally as impressive as the fat loser who no one likes (a role he's getting increasingly good at). Also an appearance from the experienced Bill Nighy as Shaun's evil (in more than one sense) step dad. The cast is great and all fulfil their roles perfectly.

While at first look the zombies may not look that impressive and the special effects almost non-existent this only helps to add to making the film feel more B movie, which it almost certainly done on purpose and it works. One thing I will comment on is the gore, the film can be quite bloody in parts, but it only adds to the comedy of the film, the same sort of over-the-top comical gore that we seen in Hot Fuzz. What I liked is that unlike more recent films, where zombies are faster, stronger and even in some occasions smarter than humans, Shaun of the Dead sticks to the traditional slow, stupid zombies who get their prey either by mass numbers or by human carelessness.
Shaun of the Dead is great as far as modern comedies are concerned, I would recommend it to anyone, but more specifically anyone who's enjoyed zombie film or anything before with Simon Pegg will get the most out of it. Although if you aren't included in the latter I will warn you, the film can be daft and silly in some scenes. But overall it gets full marks from me.

Andy Creighton

Summary: Peggs Best Film To Date, Absolutly Brilliant. Worth A Watch.