Shaun of the Dead
Rent/Purchase
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
What critics thought
One of the better-loved genre hybrids of the 2000s, Shaun of the Dead earns its reputation by treating its living characters with the same care it gives its zombie carnage — the laughs come from character, not just splatter. Critics broadly agreed that Pegg anchors the film, that Wright's technical craft serves the performances rather than overwhelming them, and that Bill Nighy steals every scene he enters. The one recurring caveat: the finale felt, to several reviewers, comparatively flat — either too straight-faced or too low on both horror and comedy to match what came before.
“instead of focusing on the Undead and trying to get the laughs there, it treats the living characters as sitcom regulars whose conflicts and arguments keep getting interrupted by annoying flesh-eaters”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Shaun of the Dead stands on its own, a romantic comedy crossed with a quarter-life crisis drama–just played against a background horde of brain-hungry, decomposing undead”
Robert K. Elder·Chicago Tribune
“Pegg gives his hero a defeated look that slowly melts away as the crisis at last gives him a chance to become a man of action”
The A.V. Club
“boasts a script crammed with real gags”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“a convincing emotional depth”
Screen Daily
Genres
Comedy, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorEdgar Wright
StarringSimon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran
ComposerDan Mudford, Pete Woodhead
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
What critics thought
One of the better-loved genre hybrids of the 2000s, Shaun of the Dead earns its reputation by treating its living characters with the same care it gives its zombie carnage — the laughs come from character, not just splatter. Critics broadly agreed that Pegg anchors the film, that Wright's technical craft serves the performances rather than overwhelming them, and that Bill Nighy steals every scene he enters. The one recurring caveat: the finale felt, to several reviewers, comparatively flat — either too straight-faced or too low on both horror and comedy to match what came before.
“instead of focusing on the Undead and trying to get the laughs there, it treats the living characters as sitcom regulars whose conflicts and arguments keep getting interrupted by annoying flesh-eaters”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Shaun of the Dead stands on its own, a romantic comedy crossed with a quarter-life crisis drama–just played against a background horde of brain-hungry, decomposing undead”
Robert K. Elder·Chicago Tribune
“Pegg gives his hero a defeated look that slowly melts away as the crisis at last gives him a chance to become a man of action”
The A.V. Club
“boasts a script crammed with real gags”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“a convincing emotional depth”
Screen Daily
Genres
Comedy, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorEdgar Wright
StarringSimon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran
ComposerDan Mudford, Pete Woodhead
Rent/Purchase