You may notice that I've yet to upload the intended Throwback Thursday Review of Inception or the Triple-R over Interstellar from two weeks ago and I promise that is for good reason. An idea came to me when I started writing the Inception review that I simply had to deliver on and I only found time to watch Interstellar this Sunday and have found myself busy since then. You'll understand in due time and I'm sorry that this review is also delayed by about a week. In the meantime, my other reviews should be published around the intended schedule. Last week began my Edgar Wright review series that was initially intended to correspond with the announced release date of Baby Driver. Baby Driver got bumped up to June and I couldn't really find any alternatives to fill the gap so I decided to jump back and forth between reviewing Edgar Wright movies and Steven King adaptations for the coming weeks to tie in with the release of both The Dark Tower and It (2017). So to give you an idea of what else I'm reviewing in that span, I intend publishing Throwback Thursday Reviews of The Shawshank Redemption, Hot Fuzz, Stand By Me, The World's End, The Shining, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in addition to reviews of new releases The Emoji Movie, Atomic Blonde, Detroit, Kidnap, Wind River, The Glass Castle, Logan Lucky, and The Hitman's Bodyguard.
'Shaun of the Dead' Review
In Shaun of the Dead, the titular character Shaun is nearly thirty and lives a relatively regular life. He works at an electronics store, bunks with his lethargic best friend Ed, and makes routine visits to his favorite pub, The Winchester. This irks his girlfriend Liz, who merely wishes he'd get his life together, so when Shaun refuses to abide by her request, she calls it off. However when a sudden zombie apocalypse risks the lives of those Shaun holds dear, he races to win back his ex-girlfriend, save his mum, and wait it all out in The Winchester.
Shaun of the Dead is not your average zombie movie or even a run-of-the-mill rom-com, but rather the most interesting mixture of all those genres. For those familiar with the name Edgar Wright, this would be the project that truly jumpstarted his career and launched him to becoming the king of cult comedies. Wright previously had directed a number of television series and short films in addition to A Fistful of Fingers, a film I didn't even know existed till I perused through his IMDB page, but Shaun of the Dead put him on the map.
Wright's direction imbues a sense of satire and suspense to keep the ongoing affairs fresh, while the script he penned alongside star Simon Pegg has plenty of excitement to maintain audience engagement. Both Wright and Pegg hail from England so British humour is inventively ingrained into Shaun of the Dead's DNA. The duo mock the monotonous routine of life by practically portraying ordinary citizens as lifeless zombies before any the living dead ever step into frame and then ensuring Shaun remains oblivious to the outbreak because he's too self-centered to notice anything awry. That's just one example of the social satire to be found in Shaun of the Dead, but I guarantee there's loads more!
One of the most impressive aspects about Shaun of the Dead is how well it rides the line between horror and humor. There are moments of trepidation, but Wright and Pegg understand when it's time for a laugh. When the occasional opportunity arises, Wright and Pegg have a ball playfully parodying George A. Romero's classic zombie movies and interject their own social commentary. The two create instinctive outlets for the comedic relief to burst from, and these jokes land exceptionally well. Elsewhere, Shaun of the Dead succeeds in utilizing practical prosthetics to fabricate eerily realistic zombies, and more importantly investing you in these schmucks.
Simon Pegg plays Shaun to be an unconventional leading man, he's just an an average guy thrust into an extraordinary situation. Pegg secures a nice niche in being incredibly immature alongside Nick Frost's egregiously lazy Ed, but still comes out as the more level-headed leader among the group. Alongside Pegg, Frost instills a charming demeanor in Ed that really resonates when he's at his silliest. When paired together, Pegg and Frost have a delightful dynamic with killer comedic timing and bang-up rapport that definitely drives the film forward.
Amongst the ensemble, Kate Ashfield's the disapproving ex-girlfriend, Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran are the tag along couple, Nicola Cunningham is Shaun's dear old mum Mary, and Bill Nighy plays Shaun's despondent stepfather. On paper, the roles come across as caricatures but the actors imbue enough personality to click things together.
Shaun of the Dead may revolve around the living dead, but it managed to triumphantly breathe new life into spoof movies by deftly handling the precarious balance between horror and humor. Once you evaluate all its accomplishments, it's no surprise that Shaun of the Dead helped position Edgar Wright to be one of the most unique creative voices around.
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