Shaun of the Dead, a very British take on the zombie genre. It’s not the first parody or spoof, but it is distinctly English with many in jokes and references to British culture.
I watched this film with an open mind. I say this simply because I have not experienced an enjoyable British film for a long time. Britain neither has the resources or the talent to create films that really provide human drama or simple entertainment. Ken Loach’s films are an exception to the rule.
The film opens interestingly enough with a post-modern metaphor for the way we live. People go through routines and mundane procedures, bored, dejected and very much behaving like zombies. It’s enjoyable irony and it put a smile on my face and promised much to look forward to.
Unfortunately I found the film rather mundane in itself, with a script that was at best pedestrian, and at worst a chore. It seems a half complete concept, failing to either be one thing or another. Offered as a romantic comedy with zombies. It is neither one nor the other. The romance is understated and rather cliched, perhaps typical of an English film. Still it’s not as half arsed as most American films attempts at romance in a genre that conveys violence and death.
The zombie side of things is better. There are some pretty amusing scenes, throughout the film and some well choreographed moments of action. It’s all a bit tongue in cheek and it comes across fairly well. Sadly these moments I felt were few and far between. There was no real tension, and it’s pretty obvious it tries to create this at times. You cannot suspend your belief for a moment to take this seriously, nor to laugh at it, as the are rather sparse.
Shaun of the Dead is an nice attempt at an idea that has been done before, and done infinitely more better
It was nice to see some familiar faces, including Nicola Cunningham who will forever be known as “that girl from The Office” and Dylan Moran of Black Books. Kate Ashfield has starred in a lot of British films, and looks adorable as ever in this. The acting I have to say was pretty entertaining, but I think the script was fairly weak, and misdirected, it isn’t quite sure what it wants to do, and therefore the actors are not quite sure what to convey to the audience.
Special effects were well done, with some nice deaths, but again this probably done on a shoe string budget, thus much innovation is used as you don’t see a high body count in the film. Comedy and zombie death rarely works, and it doesn’t quite come off here. To be honest, the strongest elements of the film were the start with the irony, and the end with little twist. Everything in between seemed like a lot of labour to watch. It’s meant to be entertaining and fun, but I felt fairly bored and morbid about watching this for another half hour.
I personally don’t rate Simon Pegg as much of an actor or script writer. I don’t rate Spaced on Channel 4 nor Big Train on BBC2. It’s all a bit monotonous and repetitious, repeating things that have been done before and better. There’s better writers and comedians out there, however, I guess his face gives some gravitas to the prospect of promoting this film seeing as the majority advocate Spaced as brilliant. Each to their own I suppose.
The Godfather of zombie comedy for me is Peter Jackson. Both with Bad Taste and the brilliant Braindead, Jackson perfected an art form of zombie comedy that Pegg can only dream about matching. Jackson’s insane, over the top and uniquely Kiwi take on the genre provides hilarity, repulsive gore and slap stick comedy. The films never take anything seriously, and they’re very much tongue in cheek and cheese all the way through.
Shaun of the Dead tries to do so many things that nothing really comes off. Is it a serious zombie horror? Is it a drama? A romance? If it is everything, it comes across as a hideous mess with a few moments of genuine originality and humour. If anything, Pegg should really have done his homework and perhaps taken a few tips from Jackson on how to pull this genre off.
There are some pretty amusing scenes, throughout the film and some well choreographed moments of action
As it stands, Shaun of the Dead for me ranks as a rather mediocre film. It shows at times some intelligence, however, this is not throughout the film nor is their any consistency to the plot or the on screen action. It disappoints more then it entertains, and for me this is typical of a British film promising more than it can deliver.
I would stick this in the bin with Four Weddings, Notting Hill, About A Boy and anything else that’s been hyped and been a disappointment. British directors are brilliant, Parker, Scott and such have proved this, so why is it that Britain can’t produce films that are actually good? If Jackson can pull off this genre on a veritable shoestring compared to this film, and it’s about 12 years older, and vintage by comparison? Raimi did the same with Evil Dead, and that’s even older. It’s a tragedy of the industry in this country I guess.
Shaun of the Dead is an nice attempt at an idea that has been done before, and done infinitely more better. It’s good to see Brits trying a stab at something they haven’t done before, but it’s such a sloppy job and I fail to see what makes this film so entertaining? Perhaps I’m just a mean old bastard.
Verdict: Overrated and underwhelming, try Braindead or Evil Dead for a more fulfilling experience.