Day Six: Shaun of the Dead

I really hate it when people review a horror movie and try and tell you that it is a social commentary about the current times. For example, the movie Dawn of the Dead (the original) is often referred as a social commentary of the time. As taken from Roger Ebert's review of the movie: "Their eventual fates are not as interesting as their behavior in the meantime; there is nothing quite like a plague of zombies to wonderfully focus your attention on what really matters to you. Romero has his own ideas, too, and the shopping center becomes a brilliant setting for a series of comic and satiric situations: Some low humor, some exquisitely sly." I cannot stand this. The movie is a horror movie and is just trying to scare people. It is not social commentary. Okay, I feel better now.

That being said, Shaun of the Dead is a social commentary on the state of the world and the zombie-like way that people go about their daily lives. The movie opens up to Shaun (Simon Pegg) getting ready for his day at work and then progresses through a normal day in the life of Shaun. This includes walking by people on the street on his way to the convenience mart, completely oblivious to his surroundings and others people's presence, as those he passes are likewise completely oblivious to Shaun's presence. It includes a ride on the bus to his work surrounded in the bus by people that are just going through the motions, rather zombie-like. It includes sitting at a local pub with his friends after work surrounded by others that are just hanging around the bar in a daze, again rather zombie-like. It cleverly pokes fun of other horror films along the way, sometimes subtle, and sometimes by crashing the absurdity of horror films over your head in hopes to sever our zombie-like brains from the stem. Even when it is not subtle, it is not as silly or ridiculous as the Scary Movie franchise, and does not lose its credibility in its delivery.

Generally, I am on the fence when it comes to zombie movies. I really like 28 Days Later, but I really hated 28 Weeks Later. I really like the original Dawn of the Dead, but cannot stand Land of the Dead. I think Shaun of the Dead is a clever movie, has some decent horror aspects to it, and is just an overall fun movie to watch. The acting is really good, the pace is perfect for the buildup to the zombie scenes, and the satire is thick, but not too thick to prevent enjoyment of the movie. I highly recommend it whether you like OR loathe zombie movies.

Click here to read reviews of Shaun of the Dead