Day 31: Shaun of the Dead

31. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Dir: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Penelope Wilton, Bill Nighy

Oh god it can finally end now. I enjoyed doing my 31 horror movie posts from time to time, but these last few days have been kind of a nuisance. I bring this timeline to a close with a movie that may not entirely be considered horror, but certainly pays a fine tribute to the genre.

Directed and Co-written (with Simon Pegg) by Brit Edgar Wright and starring best buds Simon Pegg and Nick Frost along with an off-the-wall cast, Shaun of the Dead is filled to the brim with zombie movie homages and slapstick violence. The gore effects are impressive, the atmosphere is pitch perfect and the story is surprisingly engaging.

Shaun of the Dead introduces us to a UK appliance salesman named Shaun. Going through a mid-life crisis, Shaun is stuck in a troubled relationship, a go nowhere job and is in desperate need of a real change of scenery... Which unfortunately happens in a quite an unexpected way, were talking a zombie invasion.



What makes this film such a good zombie movie is it first and foremost focuses on the characters. We get to see Shaun's mundane life slowly shift into a zombie war-zone with him barely even noticing. Shaun's best friend Ed (Nick Frost) is an excellent side kick with his moronic presence and the rest of the cast all have their moments with their quarrels and petty arguments with each other. A film that would make George A. Romero proud, this is easily one of the best zombie movies in years. Not to mention that with all the little details and gags, this is one of those movies you could watch over and over again noticing different things every time, it's surprisingly complex.

I'd go on but I need to recover from all these Halloween Hi-jinks, so keep coming here for all my pop culture tidbits and have a far out fall season, Otteni out.

Fright Fact:Here's a personal one, I actually saw this before it came out in U.S. theaters by renting a copy at Scarecrow video with Chinese subtitles.

Horror Highlight: This as always a memorable scene.