On a recent trip to England aboard British Airways, I was delighted to find that I had a choice of 8 movie channels to watch. One of the choices was 'Shaun of the Dead', a British romantic comedy centered around an infestation of zombies in suburban London. What followed was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and an incredible zombie flick to boot.
I brought some friends to a free screening in Philadelphia last night, and was relieved to be able to laugh out loud without risking upsetting a small fleet of flight attendants and sleeping travelers. The director, writer, and star of the movie had a Q&A after the screening, and talked about how much they love the old Romero zombie flicks, which is completely obvious in their movie. The writer's first words to the audience were: "Who agrees with me? Slow zombies good, fast zombies bad?", which was met with a roar of approval from the packed theater.
If you are a fan of zombie (shambling, not kickboxing) movies, comedy, romance, drama, or England, see this puppy. The release date for the U.S. is September 24. Cheers!
I loved this movie! It joins Mr. Vampire and Evil Dead 2 in a trinity of horror comedy. We'll have an interview with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in an upcoming issue.
Fantastic! These guys were extremely funny and witty in the Q&A. One question I didn't get to ask is what their favorite horror movies are. Another is if they blame the American audience for the sudden abundance of "fast zombies". I'm sure they are huge fans of D&D zombies. Partial moves only, baby.
Fantastic! These guys were extremely funny and witty in the Q&A. One question I didn't get to ask is what their favorite horror movies are. Another is if they blame the American audience for the sudden abundance of "fast zombies". I'm sure they are huge fans of D&D zombies. Partial moves only, baby.
I can't wait to see <I>Shaun of the Dead.</i> Have you seen the British TV comedy show Spaced? It stars Simon Pegg (who shares a writing credit with his costar, Jessica Stevenson) and was directed by Edgar Wright. Very funny stuff, with plenty of genre references.
Jenny
I can't wait to see <I>Shaun of the Dead.</i> Have you seen the British TV comedy show Spaced? It stars Simon Pegg (who shares a writing credit with his costar, Jessica Stevenson) and was directed by Edgar Wright. Very funny stuff, with plenty of genre references.Jenny
I haven't seen the show, but Simon mentioned at the Q&A that the idea for Shaun of the Dead was spawned from an episode of Spaced with a dream sequence in which one of the characters was caught in a real game of Resident Evil. What makes the movie so great is the writing. I would love to get my hands on a few episodes of Spaced.
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I haven't seen the show, but Simon mentioned at the Q&A that the idea for Shaun of the Dead was spawned from an episode of Spaced with a dream sequence in which one of the characters was caught in a real game of Resident Evil. What makes the movie so great is the writing. I would love to get my hands on a few episodes of Spaced.
I can't wait to see <I>Shaun of the Dead.</i> Have you seen the British TV comedy show Spaced? It stars Simon Pegg (who shares a writing credit with his costar, Jessica Stevenson) and was directed by Edgar Wright. Very funny stuff, with plenty of genre references.Jenny
Spaced is fabulous, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the second season DVD.
At Comic Con, the lads ran an audience poll: "Zombies fast?" or "Zombies slow?" The audience, naturally, was overwhelmingly in favor of the classic latter version.
Saw Shaun of the Dead. LOVED IT! My favorite movie of the year, even more than Spiderman 2.
It entertained my butt off.
Tony M
Just saw this movie on Saturday... oh BOY is it fun! One of those movies you have to go see multiple times to get all the jokes 'cause you're laughing too hard the first time to hear them all.
I saw it for the 3rd time on Sunday, and it completely holds up. With the combination of laughing and thick accents, it's impossible to "get" everything on the first (or even second) try. I brought 4 friends and they all loved it, and for my girlfriend, who does not typically enjoy horror or zombie flicks, it was her second viewing. Maybe I'll spring some Day of the Dead on her next weekend.
James - you've got some red on you.
I guess I'll have to see it, which probably amounts to ordering the DVD from Amazon.co.uk. After the recommendations here and from the Slush God (F&SF's John Joseph Adams), it seems like I have no choice.
If you saw my DVD list post, you might have noticed that I have the first season of Spaced but haven't watched it yet. I guess it's time for that, too. (Although my DVD player plays loud white noise on the menu screen, which is very annoying.)
After the recommendations here and from the Slush God (F&SF's John Joseph Adams), it seems like I have no choice.
I've gotten about 10 friends to see the movie based on my glowing recommendation. Half of them loved it, 4 thought it was OK, and one hated it (inexplicably dislikes violence and profanity), so I hate to build it up too much. But I can't help it. It's a great movie. I saw on Yahoo that critics and viewers are giving it great marks. I guess 1 out of 10 ain't too bad.
"Zombies fast?" or "Zombies slow?"
It is my firm belief that fast zombies are utterly unsporting, akin to the "jumping spiders" I saw recently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC. Things should be either spiders or capable of jumping. They should be fast or zombies. Not both.
Jenny
Just saw this movie on Saturday... oh BOY is it fun! One of those movies you have to go see multiple times to get all the jokes 'cause you're laughing too hard the first time to hear them all.
I took my wife to see it this past Saturday and what a great movie. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. If you have not seen this movie yet, drop everything and go now.
I just moved to England and am eagerly awaiting all my stuff so I can watch Shuan of the Dead. I also recently got to see some of the Spaced episodes including the dream sequence, sigh, it's only whetted my apetite to see this movie.
Ah Spaced. I loved that show. You should also check out the British shows "The Office", "Little Britain" and "The League of Gentlemen" (Nothing to do with the film and made a good few years before it,) they are really funny. Also the main girl from "Shaun of the Dead" is in the The Office.
Owns Shaun of the Dead. One of my favorite films. I love the fact that they have funny characters but always the zombies are deadly serious.
A couple of points of trivia. First interestingly when George Romero went to see the movie the guys who made it were waiting to see his reaction when Ed blurts out "We're coming to get you Barbara!" He didn't get it! They had to tell him the line was an homage after it was all over.
Second--and this is fun to watch for: when the actor who plays Shaun jumps up on the platform to get the attention of the horde of zombies and starts waving his arms to get their attention and they turn and reach for him en masse he swears and wigs out a little. This was not scripted. It was the actor's genuine reaction when all the extremely well made up and creepy extras went for him.
I love zombie flicks!
P.S. Don't ever watch Undead. Fair warning--it's really awful.
Also George Romero let Simon Pegg (Shaun) and Edgar 'whatever his name is' (the director of Shaun of the Dead and Spaced) to be zombies in Romeros latest movie: Land of the Dead.
They are the two zombies you can get your picture taken with at the nightclub.
Shaun of the Dead is hilariously funny. To be honest I thought it would suck but it most certainly did not!