After I first saw the trailers for this film, I really wanted to see it badly. Shaun (Simon Pegg, THE RECKONING) is an unmotivated man in his late twenties who works at an electronics store and spends most of his spare time in the pub with his best mate Ed (Nick Frost, British TV’s SPACED), a jobless bloke who spends his day on Shaun’s couch playing videogames.
Shaun’s girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield, BEYOND BORDERS) is fed up with him and his slacker behavior. She is backed up with this sentiment by her flatmate Dianne (Lucy Davis, TV’s THE OFFICE) and Dianne’s snobby boyfriend David (Dylan Moran, NOTTING HILL). Rounding out the cast is Shaun’s doting mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton, IRIS) and emotionless stepfather Philip (Bill Nighy, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE), who Shaun doesn’t get along with. At first Shaun and Ed don’t really even notice that zombies have taken over London. Once they realize what’s going on, they decide to rescue Liz and Shaun’s mum and take them to the safest place they know – the pub.
The film develops some very funny riffs on zombie conventions and has a lot of fun with its characters. It also doesn’t miss making a connection between zombies and the mindlessness of retail work. The only misstep I think the film took is its shift into a real zombie movie toward the end. I was a little disappointed that it abandoned some of its wonderful wit. But this change in tone is still handled well and you grow to like the characters so much that it works dramatically. In the end, this was a solid riff on the zombie genre that I quite enjoyed.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
