Shaun of the Dead

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there's a frog in my snake oil
A little bit of fun from some sitcom comedians...welcome to the first "romcomzom" movie...

1
Shaun's life is going nowhere, and his girlfriend is getting more than a little agrieved about it. He spends all his time down the pub with his best mate, and forgets even the simplest things, like their let's-start-again dinner-date. When a zombie plague visits their well-worn bit of suburbia Shaun has just realised he needs to snap out of his own stupour if he's to win back his girl. And survive.
Once it gets going, the first section of the film is spot on. The jokes revolve around the zombie-like aspects of modern life, and how a sudden plague of undeadness might be hard to spot if it happened. From the agonizing "schwip" of Shaun's regulation salesman's tie, to his gormlessness on the early-morning commute to work, the mundaneness of his unambitious life is laid out for us with farcical frivolity. When zombies turn up, and Shaun barely notices, it's the playful bits of social commentary, and the absurdity of it all, that pull out the biggest laughs.

2
Unfortunately, the sitcom roots seem to show through a bit, as the comic premises lose some of their strength as the film progresses. There are still plenty of nice little jokes dotted around, but after a while it's the references and the horror-aspects itself which have to carry the film. And to be fair, they achieve a couple of good scares, and even have some truly effective and involving scenes. But overall the mix of comedy and horror does feel a bit clunky in places. The classic ending brings the comedy surging back to life though, with an absolutely quality assessment of the aftermath.


Rating:
Some Gremlin titters, one exploding belly laugh, several chunks of nostalgia cut into neat brain pieces, and a brimming pint glass.
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What a nice little Indie film!

Shaun and his crew are such a resourceful bunch of Brits, what with their corrupt dictatorship of a government totally disarming them and rendering them basically defenseless against the zombie plague. Cricket bats, shovels, golf clubs and pool cues become the weapons du jour in post-Modern England when the living-dead $hit hits the living-dead fan.

In what is probably the funniest scene in the film, Shaun and his best buddy Ed-- forever sporting his well-worn and grimy tee-shirt "I got Wood"-- try assaulting a pair of zombies after hearing on the "telly" that their brains need to be attacked. They confront the zombies with a laundry basket of various household items, such as a toaster, a corner wall shelf, a piece of pottery, and begin throwing them at the heads of the two undead in a futile attempt to kill them. It was hilarious.

This clever scene served as both gross parody and a critical statement of the current condition of England's totally absurd arms control policies. I'm surprised merry ol England hasn't started removing teeth from its subjects' mouths yet. Teeth can be dangerous, you know. (Psst.....that's how the zombies attack the living and turn them into the walking dead.)

Later in the film, Shaun, Ed and his companions are rewarded for their perseverance by finding an actual, working lever-action rifle at their favorite pub, The Winchester. (A perfect American icon highlighted by the addition of its own appellation.) There's one Her Majesty hasn't stolen yet.

The film does utilize some quick-action photography and matches it with some rapid-fire dialogue. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes the accents are a little too thick.

Favorite line: "His ideas of a romantic nightspot and an impenetrable fortress are the same thing."
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Originally Posted by Golgot
. But overall the mix of comedy and horror does feel a bit clunky in places.
What a great thing to say, I agree, but this is what made it fun for me......clunky yet expectedly so, I loved this movie.....great review BTW.
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Just watched it last night and enjoyed it... a brief review:

Many people consider Shaun of the Dead to be a parody of Romero's Dead series, but I saw it as that rare type of tribute film, one that is able to stand on its own merit. Its plot deftly weaves comedy with horror while even managing to throw in a bit of romance for the ladies. And while the film does stumble a bit as it transitions from inspired comedy to covering the more serious side of Romero's work, most people will enjoy watching Shaun and Company slowly become aware of what's going on and attempt to fight their way to freedom.



And this is my BOOMstick!
Just two more days, just two more days...
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A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by Mose
Just watched it last night and enjoyed it... a brief review:

Many people consider Shaun of the Dead to be a parody of Romero's Dead series, but I saw it as that rare type of tribute film, one that is able to stand on its own merit. Its plot deftly weaves comedy with horror while even managing to throw in a bit of romance for the ladies. And while the film does stumble a bit as it transitions from inspired comedy to covering the more serious side of Romero's work, most people will enjoy watching Shaun and Company slowly become aware of what's going on and attempt to fight their way to freedom.
Hiya Mose.

Welcome to MoFo.

Great review Golgot.

Love the style, and the rating.
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Great Review ....Really terrific style. Keep the good work
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Originally Posted by Karl Childers
. And sometimes the accents are a little too thick."
Not really, its not like they're strong accents, brummie or northern for instance.
Would you like subtitles?
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And this is my BOOMstick!
Originally Posted by Pyro Tramp
Not really, its not like they're strong accents, brummie or northern for instance.
Would you like subtitles?
I could understand the movie perfectly. Want an unbearable British accent? Go watch Billy Elliot I couldn't make out half the movie. It was a dumb movie anyways.



Truly without a doubt the funniest movie I have seen yet this year. Good lord could they make zombies more fun?
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there's a frog in my snake oil
Cheers for liking the review guys

Originally Posted by Karl Childers
... with their corrupt dictatorship of a government totally disarming them and rendering them basically defenseless against the zombie plague....

This clever scene served as both gross parody and a critical statement of the current condition of England's totally absurd arms control policies. I'm surprised merry ol England hasn't started removing teeth from its subjects' mouths yet. Teeth can be dangerous, you know. (Psst.....that's how the zombies attack the living and turn them into the walking dead.)

...There's one Her Majesty hasn't stolen yet.
Erm, Karl, i'm really, really sure that scene isn't meant as a parody of British arms-controls. Stop obsessing man, for god's sake. (you're just jealous that we get to use unique weaponary on our invading hoardes of zombies aren't you )



Yes, but really, how effective were those records anyway?



Just picked it up for £7.99

Great movie, not enough brittish movies making it big.



And this is my BOOMstick!
Originally Posted by MovieMaker5087
Just got the DVD for Christmas. I'm gonna check it out ASAP.
Just started watching it too, but we have people coming over so I had to stop.



Loved it! One of the best of the year IMO...
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Good flick, taking the p!ss out of zombie movies. I liked the humor in this and in the last Brit horror flick, Dog Soldiers.
Nice review, Gol.
What accents? There were thick accents?



trotskyist's Avatar
motivationally deficient
Simon pegg is brilliant in big train an this film is awesome. I think its hilarious that the one place shaun decides to make a stand against the zombie horde is the winchester pub.