Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead is a combination of British humor and zombies.
If that didn't make you decide to watch it right this instant then I want you out of this blog. Out.

Odds are, you've probably seen Shaun of the Dead already. Maybe you haven't though. If you haven't, you should watch it. And don't think you need to have watched other zombie movies first to get it. You really don't.

But anyway. To the movie!
Shaun of the Dead takes its name from the movie Dawn of the Dead, a zombie movie. There are two Dawn of the Deads: the one by George A. Romero and the later remake. It really doesn't matter which one Shaun of the Dead takes the name from, because it spoofs the entire zombie genre, not just one film.
The film begins with Shaun (Simon Pegg, co-writer), a salesman living a dull life in an English town, living with his childhood friend Ed and some prick named Pete.
He's having troubles with Liz, his girlfriend. There's an asshole named David who is an asshole. And Shaun doesn't get along with his stepfather too much and basically? The movie starts in traditional British style: awkward, timid and funny.

Cue the zombies. Shaun and his buddy Ed go over to his mum's and they get Stepdad and mum and then they head over to girlfriend and they get Liz and Fuckin' David and his girl Dianne.
They make their way to the winchester and in traditional zombie fashion are trapped in a building surrounded by zombies.

I know a film is good when I start swearing at people in the movie in order to back up the main character. It's one of my many ways of knowing whether I like a movie. And FUCKING DAVID! Damnit dave! I was so endeared to Shaun I wanted David to go jump into a mob of zombies. Thank goodness he does. I was cheering as his innards were pulled apart and the zombies lifted his intestines into the air in all their glory as they carved up his chest and stomach with their rotten hands.
Sorry, if you haven't seen the movie, you don't know what I'm talking about. Basically. There is David. He has a thing for Liz, Shaun's girl. He is in general a prick and a whining nancy boy. I may be harsh in my judgement of him, but this is a zombie movie, there is no room for whining, especially not his bullshit.

And what makes Shaun of the Dead even more golden is the constant referencing it does to other films. Obviously, George Romero's work is referenced heavily, but also things like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Evil Dead trilogy. One such reference is to the director of 28 Days Later, who insisted on several occasions that he did not make a "zombie movie". In the film when Ed mentions the word zombie Shaun snaps back "Don't say that!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basically, Shaun of the Dead is great. Its got a brilliant sense of black zombie humor combined with timid and self-deprecatingly terrific British humor. People who aren't fans of horror can enjoy Shaun of the Dead.
Except maybe during the disembowelment. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty brutal.
Fuckin' Dave.