Shaun of the Dead (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Shaun of the Dead' is a combination comedy/horror film, directed by Edgar Wright, and written by Simon Pegg & Wright. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is sad that his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), is breaking up with him. She feels that he spends too much time at the pub and not enough time with her. Shaun works at a lowly job and has no sense of adventure in his life. She misses the old Shaun that she fell in Love with in Greece. But now, Shaun is only content to sit in front of the telly with his friend, Ed (Nick Frost), and do nothing; she will not stand for this. It all takes-off from here and I thought it would never 'look-back'. Unfortunately, I feel that the 'funniness' of the film ends jarringly, & the 'horror' enters too curtly; it didn't flow with me.
To drown his sorrows, Shaun goes to the Winchester Pub with Ed & gets bombed. In the fogginess of the next morning hang-over, Shaun fails to notice that Zombies have taken over. They walk aimlessly through the streets & Shaun is too sad and oblivious to all of this. Funny enough, it appears that he and Ed (who is a complete slob and rarely leaves the house for anything) are the only two blokes in England who don't realize the severity of the situation at hand. This sets up the hysterical comedy in this movie. Even when these fellows realize the immediate danger that they are in, they don't rush. In fact, they almost scoff at the thought that these slow-moving Zombies have to alter their daily schedule of doing absolutely nothing.
After they leave their house & try to save Shaun's mom, Barbara (Penelope Wilton), the film becomes uber-serious & takes itself too seriously (especially considering how un-serious it had been prior). What's my problem with this? The brunt of the funny ends after 45 minutes & that really discouraged me for a while. This may be what threw me off for a good 30 min. near the end of the film. There wasn't enough gross & scary to make my transition from funny-to-unfunny a smooth one. The theater was roaring at the front part of this film. And we were quiet for the drama. Zombie film clichés creep into the film & it all becomes familiar and complacent for me.
We're used to characters searching out other survivors, running from the sluggish Zombies, trying to find a safe-haven from the Zombies (in this case, it is the Winchester Pub), supporting characters dying along the way, and then 'The World is Saved' ending where main characters have survived. But the last 10 min. or so are interesting again & I really like the way the film ends. 'Shaun of the Dead' follows other films made this year, such as, 28 Days Later, & Dawn of the Dead. All three are Zombie flicks, but 'Shaun of the Dead' appears to be the first to actually incorporate intelligent humor. I recommend this film because it lends more than the usual Zombie movie. There are some great laughs, icky moments, & a few budding stars to come out of this.
To drown his sorrows, Shaun goes to the Winchester Pub with Ed & gets bombed. In the fogginess of the next morning hang-over, Shaun fails to notice that Zombies have taken over. They walk aimlessly through the streets & Shaun is too sad and oblivious to all of this. Funny enough, it appears that he and Ed (who is a complete slob and rarely leaves the house for anything) are the only two blokes in England who don't realize the severity of the situation at hand. This sets up the hysterical comedy in this movie. Even when these fellows realize the immediate danger that they are in, they don't rush. In fact, they almost scoff at the thought that these slow-moving Zombies have to alter their daily schedule of doing absolutely nothing.
After they leave their house & try to save Shaun's mom, Barbara (Penelope Wilton), the film becomes uber-serious & takes itself too seriously (especially considering how un-serious it had been prior). What's my problem with this? The brunt of the funny ends after 45 minutes & that really discouraged me for a while. This may be what threw me off for a good 30 min. near the end of the film. There wasn't enough gross & scary to make my transition from funny-to-unfunny a smooth one. The theater was roaring at the front part of this film. And we were quiet for the drama. Zombie film clichés creep into the film & it all becomes familiar and complacent for me.
We're used to characters searching out other survivors, running from the sluggish Zombies, trying to find a safe-haven from the Zombies (in this case, it is the Winchester Pub), supporting characters dying along the way, and then 'The World is Saved' ending where main characters have survived. But the last 10 min. or so are interesting again & I really like the way the film ends. 'Shaun of the Dead' follows other films made this year, such as, 28 Days Later, & Dawn of the Dead. All three are Zombie flicks, but 'Shaun of the Dead' appears to be the first to actually incorporate intelligent humor. I recommend this film because it lends more than the usual Zombie movie. There are some great laughs, icky moments, & a few budding stars to come out of this.