Shaun Of The Dead

Shaun of the Dead is easily one of my favorite movies ever. Perhaps, made solely to make fun of the zombie genre, Shaun of the Dead IS actually scary! The first time I watched it, I even cried when they had to kill Shaun’s mom! And when they rip apart Ned, it was really graphic and scary! The movie’s director and star, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, are doing a “Blood and Ice Cream” trilogy (based on three flavors Cornetto in which there is strawberry ‘Shaun of the Dead”, classic blue “Hot Fuzz” and Minty green “The World’s End”, which hasn’t come out yet.) in which Shaun is the first. I can’t decide if this has anything to do with the films’ plots (blood and zombies, cops “blue badges”) or the way they were shot (as Hot Fuzz has a bluish tungsten feel to it). ANYWAY, so these movies are hilarious and all started with Shaun of the Dead, which showcases Wright’s awesome kinetic style, but also pays homage to a plethora of other movies- most obviously Romero’s Dead trilogy- TV shows and video games. It’s a great zombie flick that works so well because it has both hordes of undead and a main character fighting them who was previously running out of reasons to live! This was also one of my first British comedies to watch, so all the cute lingo and cultural references were fresh and fun, and I love Queen! It was witty, energetic and appropriately self-mocking, cheesy fun. Nothing else has come close and I love to watch these guys revamp the horror genre over and over. Not as dark and over the top as Tarantino, but just enough o have you on the edge of your seat. There’s also a range of humor devices used: from witty banter, to crude jokes, props and slap-stick, awkward embarrassment- I love it all. I love Simon Pegg and I love Nick Frost. It’s also a great buddy movie, since I didn’t mention that.