Cult Classic Corner: Shaun of the Dead

By Matt Wenner

Synopsis:
A romantic comedy. With zombies. That’s the description and that’s all I really needed to be interested in this film. This British film follows Shaun who has just been dumped by his long time girlfriend for not having any ambition, and his slacker friend Ed. Zombies start taking over as in any standard zombie film, and Shaun takes it upon himself to save his (now ex-) girlfriend, her friends and his mother.

Why it’s great:
This film is a romantic comedy. With zombies. Again that’s what makes this film great. This film is billed as a parody of zombie films taking shots at films such as Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later among others, and it does this quite well in this respect, but this film also can stand on its own as a regular addition to this genre: its horror, gore and survival elements are all performed that well. This film may not be for everyone though. It does feature dry British humor (being a British film and all) and that may not interest some people, but these people will definitely miss out.

Favorite Scene:
The best scene would be when Shaun and Ed ‘fight’ zombies for the first time. They start by throwing a bunch of things from around the house at them such as silverware, jars, a toaster oven and a laundry basket. They then proceed to throw records at them (see great quotes). When this fails, they go into the shed and get a cricket bat and a shovel and proceed to pummel the zombies into submission.

Trivia:
The director Edgar Wright, Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) are currently teaming up again on the upcoming film entitled Hot Fuzz which will do for action and cop films the same thing Shaun… did for zombie films. For up to date info on this film go to: http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/film.php?filmID=99

Great Quotes:
[looking through Shaun's LPs for suitable records to throw at two approaching zombies]
Ed: “Purple Rain?”
Shaun: “No.”
Ed: “Sign o’ the Times?”
Shaun: “Definitely not.”
Ed: “The Batman soundtrack?”
Shaun: “Throw it.”

Repeated Line: “You’ve got red on you.”

Shaun: “Mum, look, what would you say if I told you that over the years Philip’s been quite unkind to me?”
Shaun’s mom: “Well you weren’t always the easiest person to live with.”
Shaun: “Mum, he chased me around the garden with a bit of wood!”
Shaun’s mom: “Well you did call him a you-know-what!”
Shaun: “Oh what, did he tell you that?”
Shaun’s mom: “Yes he did.”
Shaun: “Motherfucker!”
Shaun’s mom: “Shaun!”
Shaun: “Sorry mother… mum!”