Film Revisitations: Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Ever since the release of the first entry of the Cornetto Trilogy back in 2004, Simon Pegg has become a Hollywood superstar of sorts, ranging from similarly small British fare like Burke and Hare and Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness to blockbusters Star Trek and soon Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. However, he never left his Spaced crew who helped raise his reputation with Shaun of the Dead, with the combined efforts of himself, co-star Nick Frost (becoming a dynamic duo of sorts) and director/co-writer Edgar Wright created a cult following of sorts. And with Pegg currently bracing audiences in the fifth Mission: Impossible and about to lead small British comedy Absolutely Anything, journey back to the days before he was in practically everything. 

Shaun (Pegg) is your typical life-less slacker who has little going for him in life. His girlfriend (Kate Ashfield) wants out of their relationship; he's stuck in a dead-end job as a salesman; his stuck-up roommate (Peter Serafinowicz) wants to evict his vulgar best friend (Nick Frost); and he still can't accept step-father Phillip (Bill Nighy) as his new dad despite his mother's (Penelope Wilton) best wishes. But that all changes when a zombie apocalypse begins, and so Shaun becomes an unlikely leader in the quest to save his parents, his best friend, his ex-girlfriend and her friends (Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran)in the safest place he knows – the local pub. Can he save his allies and himself from the impending undead menace and fix all the issues his life currently has? 

Long-time readers may be aware of my tolerance for comedy films such as Ted and The Inbetweeners 2 as being a little high, despite those films' obvious appeal to mainstream audiences and franchise power. So it should come to surprise that, in this case, the comedic aspect is a slice of fried gold from start to finish. Not only thanks to the visual direction decisions by Wright – a director who solidified his prowess with Scott Pilgrim VS The World - but also through his and Pegg's writing ability. From start to finish, they write one of the smartest comedies out there thanks to how well-linked the jokes and the story are. There isn't one stand-out joke because of how good they all are. 

It also helps that, despite how clichéd a zombie film can be – and especially now, in a time where supernatural creations are practically a necessity from any medium – the story told here is a strong. As the first noteworthy iteration of the zom-rom-com subgenre, its balance of the present conventions of both genre parents shows that a tremendous amount of effort has been put into a plot which is, essentially, a feature-lengthed Spaced episode. And with each act separated slickly (from simple introductions to them and the incoming situation, to bringing them all together and lastly seeing them against the actual problem at hand), we have a story which really works, and with interlaced character moments spread across all three acts it allows for it to be something of an emotional roller-coaster – albeit one which would be sensitive enough for younger audiences if not for the gross-out humour, zombie incursion and 15 age certificate. And let's not forget its obvious metaphorical comments on regular life, as explored during the opening title sequence – no wonder Shaun and co. didn't realise what was happening until actually coming across one up close. 

Simon Pegg does a great job in a character role which, in any other hands, could probably be looked past as being just a typical loser, and his devotion to his performance leads to it being one of his most prestigious characters thus far – not bad for someone who has a pen stain on him all the way through. By his side is his trusty companion and occasional punching bag Ed, and Nick Frost does an equally good job. He's sadly overlooked in the majority of his non-Pegg appearances (with the exception of his recent guest appearance in Doctor Who: Last Christmas), but at least here he's does great. Leading the women of the group is Liz (Kate Ashfield) who we never really delve into on an emotional level outside of his relationship with Shaun and the hardships they have, but at least she gets some good laughs and brings with her a dotty drama teacher and a snobby stuck-up so-and-so in the form of Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran. Meanwhile, Penelope Wilton is hilarious as Shaun's daft and unknowing mother and is centre of some of the film's biggest laughs, while Bill Nighy's brief performance as Shaun's stepfather adds some levity to the scenario at hand. And that's not even mentioning the numerous cameos from the likes of Jessica Hynes, a pre-Hobbit Martin Freeman and Matt Lucas. 

Shaun of the Dead is one of the few comedies out there to actually succeed at being a comedy. It's hilarious from start to finish, has a strong story to boot, and the acting talent involved ranges from good to great. As the spearhead for the career of Pegg, Frost and Wright, it's one hell of a jumping point, and could be considered as one of the smartest comedies in existence. 8/10.