Review of Shaun of the Dead (2004) by Victor T — 03 Jun 2015

If you look at the pop culture of the 2000 you will see a couple of phenomenons that had invaded every medium: Superheroes and zombies. Mostly those genres follow the same story but occasionally we get a peculiar vision of said genres and an example of this is Edgar Wright´s zombie romantic comedy and the first chapter of the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy: "Shaun of the Dead".

Shaun is an shop employee that doesn't know what to do with his life, as he enjoys having fun playing videogames but also wants to have a do something bigger with his life. One day, a zombie outbreak happens and Shaun and his best friend Ed struggle to survive.

To be honest, comedies are probably my least favorite film genre as I mostly don't laugh when I'm supposed to due to the fact that most comedies relay heavily on vulgar humor or slapstick, and judging for the mixture of romantic comedy and zombie genres, you would think that this is a complete disaster but thanks to the Peg/Wright/Frost trio, this bizarre combination managed to become one of the funniest films of the 2000´s. "Shaun of the Dead" is a comedy that counts with solid/fun to watch performances by our two lead-Simon Peg and Nick Frost-, the chemistry between the protagonists adds another layer of fun to this film, hilarious dialog, numerous and constant gags that always work, Edgar Wright´s energetic, quick and focused direction makes all the jokes work; a hilarious and extremely impressive editing style that's sort of a parody of Aronofsky´s style, a solid script, well-made character relationships, an appropriate amount of drama in the middle of the zombie outbreak, it mocks the clichés of the genre in a clever and hilarious way, numerous memorable scenes, a well-used and good cinematography, a perfect balance of gore and that classic British humor, a fast pacing that shows us everything we need to know, and a masterfully made atmosphere/vibe that respectfully recreates the style of Romero´s "Dead Trilogy" (not only "Dawn of the Dead") and cleverly mocks it.

"Shaun of the Dead" is one of the most memorable zombie films ever made and one of the few comedies that I love. It is an expertly made satire that guarantees numerous laughs. An impressive beginning for a trilogy. A must see comedy.