Post by RumbleWolf4 on Oct 3, 2004 3:24:54 GMT -5
Shaun of the Dead
A Romantic Comedy....with zombies...
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Year: 2004
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
Rated R for Zombie Violence, gore and strong language
Starring:
Simon Pegg as Shaun
Nick Frost as Ed
Kate Ashfield as Liz
Dylan Moran as David
Produced By: Working Title Films
Published by: Rogue Pictures
Running Time: 99 Minutes
My Rating: 10/10 Paws Up!
Synopsis: An average joe named Shaun has enough problems with his love life, dead-end job and family turmoil. Everything is made a little more complicated when zombies invade and decimate everything in sight! Now, Shaun and his pal Ed must gather their friends and family and try to survive the onslaught of the undead. Or die trying!
Splatter Factor: 7/7 It starts off slow...but eventually this film is SOAKED in red stuff. Aside form standard zombie decomposing and bites, there's plenty of head shots (blood splatters the camera occasionaly), squirting arterial sprays, really slick impalings and an awesomely brutal evisceration scene. That poor fool gets his head ripped off, his legs torn off and his guts ripped open and apart! Eat your heart out Romero...our rather, the zombies will do it for you!
Acting: 8/10
*SIMON PEGG is a very talented actor. HE embodies what makes this film so endearing: His comedic performance is hilarious (gotta love those goofy facial expressions), his dramatic scenes full of emotion and his action scenes...intense! Can't wait for more from this guy!
*NICK FROST gives a fun performance as the chief comedic lead. His character really doesn't have much more to do than to make us laugh...but that's ok, cause he's great at what he does!
*KATE ASHFIELD does good and her character delivers emotion and an overall good performance.
*DYLAN MORAN seems to be talented but his character really annoyed me. David was the only part of this whole movie that I didn't care for. He just complained too much!
"We're coming for you Barbara!"- Nick frost as Ed, telling Shaun's mother they're coming to pick her up, in a very cool homage to NOTLD
"I am not a performing monkey!"- Nick Frost as Ed....I couldn't resist adding that quote!
My Thoughts
Those British sure know how to make zombie (or zombie-like) films. What we have in Shaun of the Dead, is a genre-blending thrill ride that builds up with solid laughs and caps off with gut-wrenching horror. It's the vry effective combination of comedy,drama,action and horror that make this film so entertaining. All of the aspects are spot-on: the comedy is hilarious, the drama is emotional, the action intense and the horror is unrelenting and unsettling.
The actors (especially Pegg) showcase a variety of acting range as they go from goofy and dumb to serious and emotinal in almost seamless transitions. I was very impressed. Also, gore hounds will appreciate the abundance of blood and guts spilled in the film and zombie enthusiasts will have fun spotting the clever homages to Romero's great films. Almost all of the characters are likable and fun to watch, which makes it all the harder to see them suffer extremely horrific and graphic deaths.
Basically the plot is non-existant as it is just a group of survivors trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, something we've all seen before. But it's the well executed comedy that sets this film apart and I laughed out loud more than once. But when fun time is over, the zombies attack with a relentless bloodlust in sequences that involve very graphic gore, an unrelenting score and exciting (if somewhat goofy) action. It's something unique, when you hear the audience laugh, scream and gasp within the time frame of two minutes!
I loved this movie. The stylish camera kept it up to speed. Especially keeping the zombies out of focus in the background at first and the rapid-fire close up cuts that make the most mundane activites (like pouring coffee) seem...interesting! The only downfalls are the unoriginal plot, a couple of annoying or useless characters and...that's about it. See this film for it's cleverness and to witness what I nominate as 2004's best so far.
Bottom Line- Like Dawn of the Dead, this one infuses comedy,drama, horror and action seamlessly. But I found this one more entertaining! All zombie fans MUST see this film!
Things you may or may not have known:
*Try to find the homages to Romero's films. and other zombie movies..
-NOTLD: Nick Frost's line as mentioned aboved...I laughed so hard!
-DOTD: SHaun works at Foree Electronics...an homage to Ken Foree who starred in Dawn of the Dead
-Evil Dead- Shaun is heard saying that Ash is calling in sick...Ash was the name of Evil Dead's hero character. Also the phrase "join us" is heard at one point.
-Dead-Alive (and 28 Days Later?)- A television station is heard to remark that the virus began with an infected monkey.
-Day of the Dead- Check out the pizza box marked "Bub's pizza". Bub was the super smart zombie in Day of the Dead.
*Look fast for a cameo from Chris Martin of Coldplay
-DayOTD:
A Romantic Comedy....with zombies...
Year: 2004
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
Rated R for Zombie Violence, gore and strong language
Starring:
Simon Pegg as Shaun
Nick Frost as Ed
Kate Ashfield as Liz
Dylan Moran as David
Produced By: Working Title Films
Published by: Rogue Pictures
Running Time: 99 Minutes
My Rating: 10/10 Paws Up!
Synopsis: An average joe named Shaun has enough problems with his love life, dead-end job and family turmoil. Everything is made a little more complicated when zombies invade and decimate everything in sight! Now, Shaun and his pal Ed must gather their friends and family and try to survive the onslaught of the undead. Or die trying!
Splatter Factor: 7/7 It starts off slow...but eventually this film is SOAKED in red stuff. Aside form standard zombie decomposing and bites, there's plenty of head shots (blood splatters the camera occasionaly), squirting arterial sprays, really slick impalings and an awesomely brutal evisceration scene. That poor fool gets his head ripped off, his legs torn off and his guts ripped open and apart! Eat your heart out Romero...our rather, the zombies will do it for you!
Acting: 8/10
*SIMON PEGG is a very talented actor. HE embodies what makes this film so endearing: His comedic performance is hilarious (gotta love those goofy facial expressions), his dramatic scenes full of emotion and his action scenes...intense! Can't wait for more from this guy!
*NICK FROST gives a fun performance as the chief comedic lead. His character really doesn't have much more to do than to make us laugh...but that's ok, cause he's great at what he does!
*KATE ASHFIELD does good and her character delivers emotion and an overall good performance.
*DYLAN MORAN seems to be talented but his character really annoyed me. David was the only part of this whole movie that I didn't care for. He just complained too much!
"We're coming for you Barbara!"- Nick frost as Ed, telling Shaun's mother they're coming to pick her up, in a very cool homage to NOTLD
"I am not a performing monkey!"- Nick Frost as Ed....I couldn't resist adding that quote!
My Thoughts
Those British sure know how to make zombie (or zombie-like) films. What we have in Shaun of the Dead, is a genre-blending thrill ride that builds up with solid laughs and caps off with gut-wrenching horror. It's the vry effective combination of comedy,drama,action and horror that make this film so entertaining. All of the aspects are spot-on: the comedy is hilarious, the drama is emotional, the action intense and the horror is unrelenting and unsettling.
The actors (especially Pegg) showcase a variety of acting range as they go from goofy and dumb to serious and emotinal in almost seamless transitions. I was very impressed. Also, gore hounds will appreciate the abundance of blood and guts spilled in the film and zombie enthusiasts will have fun spotting the clever homages to Romero's great films. Almost all of the characters are likable and fun to watch, which makes it all the harder to see them suffer extremely horrific and graphic deaths.
Basically the plot is non-existant as it is just a group of survivors trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, something we've all seen before. But it's the well executed comedy that sets this film apart and I laughed out loud more than once. But when fun time is over, the zombies attack with a relentless bloodlust in sequences that involve very graphic gore, an unrelenting score and exciting (if somewhat goofy) action. It's something unique, when you hear the audience laugh, scream and gasp within the time frame of two minutes!
I loved this movie. The stylish camera kept it up to speed. Especially keeping the zombies out of focus in the background at first and the rapid-fire close up cuts that make the most mundane activites (like pouring coffee) seem...interesting! The only downfalls are the unoriginal plot, a couple of annoying or useless characters and...that's about it. See this film for it's cleverness and to witness what I nominate as 2004's best so far.
Bottom Line- Like Dawn of the Dead, this one infuses comedy,drama, horror and action seamlessly. But I found this one more entertaining! All zombie fans MUST see this film!
Things you may or may not have known:
*Try to find the homages to Romero's films. and other zombie movies..
-NOTLD: Nick Frost's line as mentioned aboved...I laughed so hard!
-DOTD: SHaun works at Foree Electronics...an homage to Ken Foree who starred in Dawn of the Dead
-Evil Dead- Shaun is heard saying that Ash is calling in sick...Ash was the name of Evil Dead's hero character. Also the phrase "join us" is heard at one point.
-Dead-Alive (and 28 Days Later?)- A television station is heard to remark that the virus began with an infected monkey.
-Day of the Dead- Check out the pizza box marked "Bub's pizza". Bub was the super smart zombie in Day of the Dead.
*Look fast for a cameo from Chris Martin of Coldplay
-DayOTD:
