Released in 2004, Shaun of the Dead is the best of the modern zombie films. The new wave of zombie films kicked off by the emo-zombie flick 28 Days Later, and then further dragged into the ground with two horrible Resident Evil films (directed by hack extraordinaire Paul W.S. “Please Hollywood Continue to Throw Money at My Critical Failures” Anderson), and the oh-my-freaking-gosh-this-thing-sucks-but-I-love-it-like-a-car-crash House of the Dead (directed by uber-hack extraordinaire Uwe “Please German Finance Companies Continue to Throw Money at My Critical and Box Office Failures, But Don’t Worry Because In Germany You Can Write Off Your Losses As A Tax Deduction To The Arts” Boll), but elevated a giant step with the better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be remake of Dawn of the Dead and then finally buried six feet deep by the originator of all things pop-zombie, George Romero, in his own tragically lame, and incredibly insipid Land of the Dead. Which is to say this (in a really convoluted and parenthetical way) - Shaun of the Dead not only stands up to the measures of this crop of z-grade crap-ola, it also stands up to the greats of the genre - Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Brain Dead, City of the Living Dead, and Cemetery Man, which is no small feat.
Shaun could, and was by some, be billed as a Rom-Com-Zom (A Romantic Comedy with Zombies - a genre Peter Jackson may have started with Brain Dead) in that it strikes a perfect balance between comedic, dramatic and horrific with its ability to pull your heartstrings and make you laugh while at the same time ripping out your jugular. The film clearly focuses on the relationships between the characters and how these characters would act in the given situation not unlike a very typical situational-comedy made for television, only instead of the annoying Ross and Chandler high jinx, the audience is blessed with the living dead (who by the way have more personality in their decaying little maggot infested pinky toes that David Schwimmer has in his entire whiney little baby body). It is a good thing too that the script, written by Simon Pegg who plays Shaun, is witty and character driven (was Simon Pegg unavailable to pen Land of the Dead?) because the film does come up a bit shy in the zombie/gore department.
Upon first viewing, I thought the lack of gore was a problem with the film. I usually like my zombie films gooey, and gory, and hate to see when a good cinematic punch is pulled. However, this is because most zombie, or most horror flicks for that matter, do not have a strong narrative nor do they have interesting characters and lively situations to hold my interest - most zombie flicks have nothing but the gore going for them, so when they lack in this department, they really freaking lack (see Land of the Dead for more details). Shaun on the other hand makes up for the lack of blood (and boobs sadly) with an abundance of sharply written dialogue, a plot that is more than just an excuse to show zombies, and three-dimensional characters with personalities and individual story arcs that meld together to form a cohesive and entertaining narrative.
The filmmakers focused on the entertaining narrative first and foremost. Zombie films are often times too slow and brooding (28 Days Later), too lacking in all departments (Resident Evil) or, in recent years, have become bogged down in their social-political allegory (paging Mr. Romero) that really shouldn’t be there in the first place. Okay, we get it, we’re them, they’re us, we are the living dead shuffling off to our tombstone like office cubicles while we continue to buy things we don’t need and step on who ever gets in our way to the top - just shut up and entertain me. Shaun handles its narrative with almost perfect harmony. Here we get the social commentary, but its done as a send up in that it pokes fun more at the conventions of the social commentary in other zombie films and not at real life. Pegg and director/co-writer Edger Wright developed an incredibly strong and entertaining narrative, and then added in the various zombie ingredients.
In Shaun, the audience is never really given an explanation as to why zombies are popping up in the first place. This idea only exemplifies the fact that the filmmakers focused on creating a tightly woven story and characters first, and then added the zombies when they needed to be added. For the first thirty minutes or so we don’t even see or here about a zombie and quite frankly, they are not missed. By the time the evil dead start mucking about we have already spent so much time getting to know Shaun his girlfriend Liz and his best bud Ed that we genuinely care about their well being. The characters are so likable and fun they could have actually made a film about them without zombies and it would have been mildly entertaining (although I can’t think of a film that could not be made better by adding zombies - although Land of the Dead had zombies in it and it still sucked so go figure).
Because the filmmakers were so careful in their treatment of the narrative and the characters, what little gore and bloodshed there is in the film has more impact. Okay, time for a confession - given the choice of course I would rather have Shaun of the Dead be as bloody brilliant and brilliantly bloody as Brain Dead - however, with this said I cannot truly complain about the lack of gore. The violence in Shaun served a purpose - to shift the focus from comedy to horror or tragedy, and the one scene that perfectly shows this is when Shaun’s step-dad speaks his dying last words in the car. Up to this point we’re laughing, having a grand old time when suddenly the tone of the film completely shifts gears - but does so in a way that is not jarring but shocking in its masterful execution. It is after this moment that we realize how much we do care for the characters and their predicament and the bloodshed they must wade through is all the more harrowing.
Shaun of the Dead will not only stand the test of time it really is timeless. From its hodgepodge soundtrack (including Goblin’s “Zombi”, The Specials and Queen), to its everyman in everyday surroundings the film has a vibe that reeks of classic filmmaking. Post-modern trappings do not ensnare the film, nor is it bogged down in contemporary political ranting (Come on Romero, a Jihad, AND a poor black zombie who kills the rich white tycoon with gasoline - a little heavy handed yeah?). Shaun of the Dead is a film that only gets better with age and will without doubt go down as one of the genre’s great offerings. It also might be the only zombie film ever that had not a single zombie shown up, I wouldn’t have complained - much.
