Spoilers
20 years ago today (9th April 2004) Shaun of the Dead was released. So its only fair that today when it is the 20th anniversary that i watch it for the millionth time & give it the love it deserves. Now i can hear you’ll going so why is this then DVD 285… well my sister had it or it was always on film 4 or itv 2, so i didnt need it until i moved out so i only purchased it on physical media recently. My bad i know.
This link here was my old school Sofa Viewer review of it but it was back in the day so lets give it the real love the start of the cornetto trilogy deserves.
Im going to go on record here… This film has the best use of dont stop me now in any film ever & i will argue it all with you. If you do not watch that bar fight scene & not laugh through every second of it while they take out the landlord i feel very very sorry for you because its incredible. Every second of it.
The thing with Shaun of the Dead is that every single time i watch it i notice something new. Edgar Wright was absolutely showing off wasn’t he? The amount of stuff hidden in the background, the callbacks, the jokes that pay off 40 minutes later. You could watch this film 100 times & still find something.
Lets all go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint & wait for this all to blow over.
That should not be an iconic line. It should not have worked. If someone pitched me a zombie film where the grand plan is “go to the local pub” i would laugh them out the room. Yet somehow it works perfectly because every British person watching this goes yea actually thats exactly what we would do.
I love the fact that for a good chunk of the film Shaun doesn’t even realise there is a zombie apocalypse happening. Hes wandering to the shop, slipping over blood, walking past people eating each other & doesn’t notice a thing. Honestly after seeing some people during covid i completely believe that could happen.
Pete. Oh Pete. I know he spends most of the film being a miserable bastard but when he comes back as a zombie i still feel bad for him. Then again he did tell Shaun to sort his life out & unfortunately he was absolutely right.
The vinyl throwing scene is one of the funniest things ever put on film. Not only are they throwing records at zombies but they are stopping to debate which records they can afford to lose. That is the most British argument imaginable. The world is ending & they are discussing music collections.
Chris Martin randomly appearing as a zombie never stops making me laugh. The first time i saw it i completely missed him. Now every time i watch it i sit there waiting for it.
CAN WE ALL JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN.
Nobody can because David exists. Honestly if there is one thing more dangerous than the zombies in this film it is David. The amount of arguments that man starts should qualify him as a national emergency. Every single time something goes wrong he somehow makes it worse. Then there is Barbara bless her
That scene in the pub gets me every single time. Underneath all the jokes & all the gore there is actually a really sweet film about family. Shaun spends the whole film trying to grow up & sort his life out & then suddenly hes forced to deal with losing the people around him. It sneaks up on you because you are too busy laughing.
And speaking of emotional moments. Bill Nighy absolutely did not need to make me feel things in a zombie comedy. The scene in the car where he talks to Shaun before he dies is genuinely lovely. Then five minutes later somebody is getting beaten to death with pool cues. The tonal whiplash should not work but somehow it does.
David getting ripped apart is still horrific. Even now. The effects are brilliant because they don’t look overly polished. They look messy & horrible & painful. One minute you’re laughing & the next you’re sat there going OH MY GOD.
The zombies themselves are brilliant as well. They aren’t sprinting. They aren’t doing backflips. They’re just shambling around looking confused. Half of them look like they still haven’t realised they are dead. It somehow makes them funnier & creepier at the same time.
What i love most though is that underneath all the zombie stuff its basically a film about getting your act together. Shaun starts the film drifting through life & by the end hes actually forced to make decisions & grow up. Granted those decisions involve several deaths, a pub siege & a cricket bat but still.
Can we also please appreciate that there is another group of survivors in the film doing their own story at the same time that they bump into. I love that. Its only like a 2 minute scene, but its quietly clever and wonderful.
This is one of those films you simply cannot flick past if its on TV. You tell yourself you’ll just watch ten minutes & suddenly its two hours later & you’re singing Queen while quoting every line.
Twenty years later it is still hilarious, still gross, still clever & still one of the most British films ever made. The start of the Cornetto trilogy remains an absolute masterpiece.
Now if you’ll excuse me, im off to the Winchester.