Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Written by Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Directed by Edgar Wright

This is probably the one recent movie I've watched the most since it came out a few years ago, but I decided I should throw up a review of it after watching it last night. Almost like a Tarantino zombie movie, this was made for zombie fans, by zombie fans, with nearly every shot holding some type of hidden reference to another classic horror movie, along with a lot of references to the Pegg/Frost/Wright sitcom "Spaced" that aired a few years back in the UK.

Everyone here should know the story, two slackers are subjected to saving their friends and family in the midst of a zombie outbreak, one they are too oblivious to notice until it's nearly too late. What makes this movie special is the fact that it's obviously made by huge fans of the genre, and in that spirit, they add little touches from their favorite zombie movies, and create new moments that are in themselves classics.

While at its heart this film is a romantic comedy, it's a cleverly disguised one under the banner of a zombie film. Like any good zombie film it's filled with hilarious zombies, lots of cool gore, kills, and humor at the expense of the genre. What keeps this film fresh are the "Hey that's from Dawn of the Dead" moments, in conjunction with the gore, and the characters unwillingness to turn face and become zombie killing maniacs. In fact, most of the humor invovled in the film comes from the reluctance of the two main characters to saddle up and accept the burden of being a hero, the huge slackers that they are.

If you're a fan of British comedy, sitcoms in particular, then there are even more below the surface moments that poke fun at the past of the characters involved. Most of the actors are from popular british sitcoms, from Pegg/Frost/Wright's Spaced, to UK Office, to the show Black Boots, and beyond the obscure zombie movie references, there are numerous references to these three popular Brit shows. All of these references make this film one of the most rewatchable in the past few years, every time you watch it you see something new, or you can catch another on-screen gag, which is something that just doesn't happen often enough in recent films, so many of which are ultimately forgettable.

9.6/10