We count down to The World’s End by looking back over Edgar Wright’s previous films; first up is Alice Rush with Shaun of the Dead…
Though released nearly 10 years ago Shaun of the Dead is just one of those films that never get old. I can’t recall the amount of times I’ve watched it, laughing uproariously each time though I know the script inside and out and the punch lines back to front. Upon its release in 2004 it was met with rave reviews and marked both Edgar Wright’s and Simons Pegg’s move into mainstream comedy. Though Spaced was a cult hit, it was Shaun of the Dead that truly gave light to this fantastic pairing of British comedic talent and paved the way for the Cornetto Trilogy to take shape.
Watching Shaun of the Dead feels, in parts, like watching your own home video. The film teems with images of everyday Britain, from off licenses to the local pub to Cornettos on the sofa, and it’s this accurate cultural portrayal that allows the audience to be drawn fully into the action. The film follows Shaun and his friends, a group of dissatisfied thirty something’s stuck in a zombie like rut long before the epidemic hits their town. With his girlfriend having left him, his only friend being a lazy oaf and his relationship with his mother dwindling, our everyday man Shaun must fight against an entire zombie army and save his friends.
What sets Shaun of the Dead apart from other zombie movies is a genuine love for the horror genre it attempts to represent. This film does not wish to expose and critique; it instead revels in its absurdity and loves every minute of it. A great deal of the humour is self-referential, poking fun at both British representation and gore and horror itself, though never enough for the film to seem like a parody. The characters are real, the situation is real and the danger is real, due to the familiar world that has been built up for us.
That’s not to say this is a film to be taken seriously. There are moments of pure comic genius such as when Shaun and his best mate Ed throw Shaun’s record collection at some approaching zombies in an attempt to defend themselves, critiquing each record before it’s lobbed (“The Batman Soundtrack?” “Throw it”). Or the somewhat iconic scene in the pub towards the end of the film when the zombified landlord is beaten by Sean and co. with pool cues to the music of Don’t Stop Me Now.
The chemistry between the cast is also something this film should be commended for. With many of the actors having worked together before on separate projects the banter between characters seems effortless and almost spontaneous. Bill Nighy in particular brings a gem of a performance to the screen as Shaun’s aging and somewhat creepy step father, and Nick Frost also steals the spotlight as the oafish and lewd Ed. The inclusion of Jessica Hynes as one of Shaun’s old friends leading her own gang of would be zombie fighters across the paths of our main characters is a fantastic meta-cinematic nod, emphasising further the everyday and normal nature of the characters.
The comedic genius of this film is down to it being rooted firmly in British everyday life and it’s this combination of accurate observational humour, realistic gore and a touch of the absurd that, for me, makes Shaun of the Dead such a fantastic film. It balances both the natural with the supernatural, the typically British with the fantastically gory, effectively creating both a ridiculous and perfectly understandable situation to laugh, gasp and cry at.
As we approach the end of the beloved franchise, it’s easy to see why these films have struck such a chord with the public, and Shaun of the Dead, if it isn’t already, should be held up as a truly classic gem of British cinema.
How’s that for a slice of fried gold?
Alice Rush
Originally published July 15, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
