SHAUN OF THE DEAD

5/5
stars simon pegg, kate ashfield, penelope wilton, nick frost

when my good friend vito recommended this film, i doubt he would've anticipated that it would become my favourite film of all time. in fact, i remember him saying "i don't know if you'll like it, but there are bits in it that are definitely you", or similar words to that effect. but as you can see by my 5/5, i loved this movie through and through.

by now, most of you would know the basic premise of the film: a romantic comedy - with zombies. the film follows shaun (pegg) in his ho-hum kind of life, living with his primary school mate ed (frost) and pete, both of whom hate each other. shaun is working in an electrical appliace store and ed is a now-and-then dope dealer, and both are regulars at the winchester pub. shaun's girlfriend of three years liz (ashfield) is tired of thier complacent lives and wants to do something more and unfortuantely for shaun, he doesn't know what she means. that is, of course, until the recently deceased come back to life to feed off of the living.

shaun is then forced to make a plan to save his friends (and friends of friends) and finally take charge of his life.

when i first heard of this film i thought it was just going to be a spoof of zombie films with a bit of comedy thrown into it. but then i realised it was a british film and not a hollywood one. if you remember what i wrote about romantic comedies, the hollywood ones seem to be formulaic and predictable. you can see the jokes and gags coming from a mile off, and the trials faced by the protagonists are easily overcome.

"shaun of the dead" however, is very different. like a lot of english comedy, it relies on making everyday situations funny, meaning that the jokes are inherent throughout the entire film. there aren't build-ups to jokes, they just happen. and when they do, they always hit the spot.

script-wise, the film is perfik. a lot of the dialogue throughout the film can be referenced back to preceding scenes, and also make links back to films that influenced the writers (simon pegg and edgar wright) while making their own movie. the characters are authentic and unique in their own right, and never having seen pegg in anything before, i can confidently say he is one of the best actors i have ever seen. supporting cast were also awesome, with a huge mention to lucy davis who plays dianne, liz's air-head best friend.

furthermore, the editing in this film is amazing. from fast cuts, dynamic camera zooms, to just conventional continuity, "shaun of the dead" displays them all with perfection.

a lot of people may think "pft, that's so stupid - a romantic comedy with zombies. it's just an attempt to be different." different it may be, but the writers didn't push aside the need for strongly developed characters or storytelling to make way for zombie scenes. in fact, even without the zombies the film could have been an awesome stand-alone romantic comedy. oh, before i forget, shaun actually decides to sort his life out BEFORE any zombies start emerging so even without the living dead, shaun knew he had to change and make a go at his life.

the film hits emtional highs and lows, and the closing scene is just plain awesome.

go see this film, it is bloody fantastic.

-LOki