Review of Shaun of the Dead (2004) by Chris O — 17 Nov 2017

A solid balance of humor, wit, action, and zombie fun.

A hapless electronics store employee who spends most of his spare time downing pints at the local pub with his roommate, Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun's life seems to fall apart when he is dumped by his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), and his obnoxious stepfather, Philip (Bill Nighy), shows up to berate him for not being more attentive to his caring mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) -- especially since he forgot to send flowers for her birthday. Things take a turn for the worse when the dead return to stake their claim on the Earth, and though the chaos that follows threatens to swallow up all of England.

I've never seen the entire Cornetto Trilogy (aside from "The World's End'), so I knew I had to start from the beginning. Excited, "Shaun of the Dead" was first up. In today's world, zombies have become such a prevalent thing in our media and entertainment to the point where they've become a generic concept. Now you can have entertaining zombie pieces, but you'll have to stretch further out than normal. With this film, it was definitely a fun zombie flick. I think it was shot really well and I had a ton of fun with it, even if it wasn't die hard funny. If anything, it was definitely a fun time.

One thing that was great about this film was the cinematography. I thought the camerawork was so fantastic. It was able to tell the story and help progress the narrative without ever using any straight forward dialogue. I think that's a really valuable thing to recognize, especially since film is a lot of visual storytelling. It was something that made this zombie film stand out against other zombie films, which is really valuable. When you think of zombie films, this film does a good job of putting itself at the top of that conversation just through its unique aspects alone.

I thought this film had solid character depth, but nothing that'll blow you away. It's a comedy first, story second. I think there were plenty of chuckle worthy moments and I was able to have fun throughout the entire thing. I don't think this is the funniest film I've ever seen but it wasn't unfunny. Take that for what is is, but that's my honest opinion on this film and its humor.

I think the writing was solid and as one of Edgar Wright's first films, it was really impressive. To see where he was in his roots and recognize the fact that he hasn't lost that touch today is awe inspiring. I think he's a great and artistic filmmaker. Even though I didn't love this film I definitely had a good time with it.

In the end, I thought this was a solid movie and a fun zombie flick. It was well made, fast paced, and comedic. I do recommend this film for people who haven't seen any of Edgar Wright's work, or fans of zombie flicks in general.