Much acclaimed UK Romantic Zombie Comedy – RomZomCom

The aimless Shaun must deal with being dumped by his girlfriend, sorting out his life – all the while avoiding the undead horde.

March 04 was an interesting month for zombie films in the UK when two were released at the same time.  Both were inspired in very different ways by Romero’s seminal Dawn of the Dead.  Dawn ’04 – though billed as a remake – was really more a re-imagining of the original, same basic plot but very different in execution.  Shaun ’04, on the other hand, does stay true to Romero’s idea but is set in London and has a most English feel about it.  The contrast between the two is never more evident than in the opening 10 minutes, DODT04: adrenaline fuelled, action-packed and full of car chases and explosions.  Shaun: the characters are sitting in a London pub with their pork scratchings and pints, discussing relationships and life.  One could make the point that Shaun is as much preoccupied with English pub culture as it is with the undead.  Much of the film takes place in the Winchester Tavern and I am sure it is not by chance that in the American version everyone (heroes and zombies) gravitate to the shopping mall, while in the English version they all head for the pub.

Another major impression one gets from Shaun is the absolute love the writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have of the genre – they certainly know their stuff when it comes to zombies.  It is packed with subtle nods to the other major films; my favourites are Shaun’s just-woken-up shuffling entrance which lifts from Day of the Dead’s opening street zombie, and a dig at 28 Days Later (“claims that the epidemic was due to rage infected monkeys have now been dismissed as bo…”).  There is a nice twist on the original Dawn of the Dead’s zombies – which act like mindless automatons in the shopping mall; Shaun shows the living population of London going about their mundane daily routines – like zombies.  Knowing winks to the fanboys, nicely done.  There’s hundreds more listed over at IMDB.  Referencing other cult films is also a trademark of Pegg and Wright’s fantastic TV comedy, Spaced, which Shaun sometimes seems like a film version of.  This film is most definitely a Spaced style comedy before anything else.  It just so happened there’s zombies in it.  Note – unlike most zombie films where the word “zombie” actually never gets used, here they happily call a zombie a zombie.

In many ways Shaun succeeds in showing the audience – an English audience, certainly – a more authentic account of a zombie outbreak than we may be used to.  Early zombie encounters are reacted to first with confusion, not horror (“Oh my God…she is so drunk:”), then with undignified fright, not grim, determined bravery (“ooh! He’s got an arm off!”).  Instead of boarding up the house, they draw the curtains and instead of using great big guns to fight zombies they throw ordinary household knick-knacks (toaster, plates, records and – best of all – a mug holder).  A fine contrast of the earth shatteringly significant with the utterly banal.  In another scene Shaun fails to realise at all that the population are no longer living, and in truth you have to wonder (especially after journeying through London early in the morning) why no-one has played up this angle before.  Another first in zombie films – the humans win.  Eventually, after all the initial chaos, the army comes in and deals with the situation – another more realistic outcome, I think.  Zombies are not clever, and despite their large numbers I am sure they would eventually be subdued.

My one problem with this film is that while all the ideas are clever and funny they do mark Shaun firmly as a comedy so when it tries to be anything else it just doesn’t work.  When we get to the (almost obligatory) barricading in part of the film its pace starts to falter.  Being besieged by zombies is a terrifying idea but there is no sense of tension, dread or claustrophobia generated here at all and it starts to lose its way.  When a character is torn to pieces by zombies, the explicit gore really feels out of place and does not sit comfortably with the light hearted mood of the rest of the film.  Similarly, when Shaun has to deal with his zombiefied mother, it is too huge an emotional gear shift.

Despite this flaw it is still a film heaving with good bits that stand up to much repeated viewing, though the end pub part will probably get skipped over.  I should point out that the DVD is well worth having – outtakes, extra features and  four accompanying audio commentaries.  Perfik.

Favourite Scene:

Record throwing session in the garden.

Favourite Quote:

Shaun:[Motions towards the window] “Are they still out there?”
[Ed opens the curtains to reveal two zombies clawing at the window]
ED: “Yeah.”  [pause] “What do you think we should do?”
Shaun: “Have a sit down?”

An extremely quotable film, almost every other line is a classic

Film Rating:

3.5/5

Adherence to THE LORE:

4/5
I can’t see that putting on a shuffling walk and moaning would really fool a horde of zombies (they can sense live flesh, you know).  Also perhaps a little too much artistic licence when the zombies pause around their prey instead of going straight in for the kill.

See Also

Spaced, series one and two.