Shaun
of the Dead: A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies (if you will)
4.5 stars out of 5
by W.M. Mersh
Shaun of the Dead is nearly perfect entertainment. Unless of course, you have
a weak stomach or hate zombies. Then it's just very good. As I write this, it
becomes very difficult to explain why SotD is so wonderful. Is it that every
character is three dimensional? Is it the nods to Romero's "Dead"
films? Is it the presence of the star of "Black Books"?
Why don't the ads do this movie justice?
This is a question I do feel I can address. See, the ads I saw on tv flew in
the face of every great thing I'd heard about it. The jokes looked obvious and
stupid, the "scares" were neither frightening nor interesting. Even
the celebrity blurbs sounded cheesy (I'm sorry Peter Jackson, really I am, but
Cabin Fever was not the best horror movie of 2003 or any other year.) So I went
in with a grain of salt, expecting to be sadly disappointed in another over-hyped
"indie gem." Imagine my shock when in the first five minutes I was
laughing. Not chuckles, but outright laughter, which led to sustained belly
aching laughs as things really got rolling. Even the scenes they show you on
tv, like when Shaun and Ed are singing and the zombie joins in, are funny. Seriously.
Yes, taken out of context, they look terrible. When you realize that Shaun and
Ed are very drunk and may well be the only people in London that DON'T know
the dead have risen... I don't know. It's hard to explain.
Needless to say, just go see it. I've already told everyone I know that it's
fucking hilarious and they'll love it. And if you have an aversion to gore or
"horror" movies, then you'll be just fine until they lock themselves
in the pub. Really. The title of this review doesn't lie. If you do like zombies,
then you ought've seen it already, so get out there and watch it!