Review

Review Date: 3-October-04
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Here it is, the beginning of October, and I have just now encountered the first movie of the year where an audience clapped at the end. The movie was "Shaun of the Dead," and when the lights went up I was applauding along with everybody else. I don't know why I had a sudden urge to see this "rom zom com" --- I don't have much affection for modern romances, zombie horror flicks, or British comedy --- but I'm glad I gave in to my compulsion. This thoroughly watchable movie is a well-concocted stew of laughs, gore, and rousing good times.

"Shaun of the Dead" was written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the former of whom directs with zippy panache and the latter of whom gives a most excellent performance in the title role. The movie follows the traditional hero's journey in telling the tale of Shaun, a 29-year-old bloke on the fast track to nowhere. Although less of a worthless slob than his best friend Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun seems content to grub in the same dead-end job day after day, drink in the same pub (The Winchester) night after night, and treat his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) with the same faithful negligence year after year. Liz, however, wants something more, and when Shaun botches their third anniversary she ruefully shows him the door. This event is the first part of Shaun's awakening; the second comes when he emerges from his breakup binge to discover a strange woman in the backyard, a woman who is actually a flesh-eating zombie.

The fun really begins at this point, as Shaun and Ed find themselves besieged, like the rest of London, and initially respond by arguing over which LPs to lob at the zombies' heads. (Following conventional wisdom, the undead here are slow and easily dispatched by a smart whack on the noodle.) Shaun's thoughts then turn to the welfare of his loved ones, namely Liz and his mother (Penelope Wilton), and, by extension, to his step-dad (Bill Nighy) and Liz's roommates (Dylan Moran and Lucy Davis). After rounding up this group, Shaun leads them through the zombie-filled streets to the shelter of The Winchester, where they struggle to maintain the safety of numbers and make a scrappy last stand in classic horror movie fashion.

A critic once noted that the allure of the greatest hero/myth/monster cycle, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was that it demonized life's difficulties so that someone with whom the audience related could physically trounce them. This is also the appeal of "Shaun of the Dead," which combines gleefully comic moments with the satisfying theme of a little guy making good by bashing in heads with a cricket bat. In some respects, Shaun claims kinship to the underdogs of other British hits such as "The Full Monty." But unlike the bare-assed pansies in that movie, he accepts the redemptive challenge fate deals him by stepping up to the plate and getting his hands bloody dirty (or actually just bloody). The result is thrilling, almost cathartic; you can't help but laugh with, admire, and even envy Shaun and Ed for their chance to prove themselves champions. So much so that, with all due respect to Jet Li, they're my pick for the best heroes of the year.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.