Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British comedy horror film written and directed by Edgar Wright. The film stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Paddy Considine.
Set in Shaun’s hometown of Edendale, London, England and partly based on the real-life West End Gang of Nigh Punks. The film follows Peggs character as he raises his friend after contracting an aggressive form of cancer that has left him unable to leave his home or go into open spaces by himself.
Contents
Plot
Shaun, an electronics salesperson in Crouch End, London, is dissatisfied with his life. His coworkers are treated poorly, particularly Noel, who has a strained relationship with his stepfather, Philip, and has been rejected by his girlfriend, Liz.
In their favorite pub, the Winchester, Shaun, who is heartbroken, drinks with Ed, his lazy best friend. At home, Shaun and Ed’s housemate, Pete, complains about a mugger bite wound and berates Shaun for not putting his life together.
By the next morning, London had been overrun by a zombie apocalypse. Shaun and Ed don’t see anything until they come across two zombies in their yard, which they beat to death with a shovel and a cricket bat. They concoct a plan to save Liz and Barbara, Shaun’s mother, and then stay in Winchester to wait out the situation.
They flee in Pete’s vehicle, where they pick up Philip, who has already been bitten, and Barbara. They then drive Liz and her flat mates, David and Dianne, in Philip’s automobile. Philip reconciles with Shaun before the latter turns into a zombie.
The party abandons the vehicle and sneaks about their London neighborhood, bumping across friends and avoiding zombies by impersonating them. They seek sanctuary inside the Winchester, where Shaun learns that the Winchester gun over the bar works.
Barbara discloses that she was bitten along the way and dies after giving her permission to Liz and Shaun’s love. Shaun prevents David from shooting Barbara, prompting the gang to argue: Shaun accuses David of disliking him and being in love with Liz, which Dianne acknowledges. When Barbara reanimates, Shaun, who is upset, is compelled to shoot her.
Zombies attack the tavern, consuming David, and Dianne dashes into the swarm to revenge him. Shaun shoots and kills Pete when the zombified Pete emerges and bites Ed. Shaun, Liz, and Ed seek shelter behind the bar, which Shaun sets on fire before fleeing to the basement. Shaun and Liz consider suicide after realizing they only have two bullets remaining, while Ed chooses to be consumed by the zombies.
Ed offers to remain with the rifle as the zombies break in when Shaun uncovers a keg lift that leads out into the street. The British Army arrives and shoots down the mob, rescuing Shaun and Liz.
Six months later, civilization has resumed normalcy, and the remaining zombies are exploited as cheap labor and amusement. Liz has moved in with Shaun, and Shaun keeps the zombified Ed confined to his shed, where they both play video games.
The Climax Of The Shaun Of The Dead (2004) Movie
The climax of the Shaun Of The Dead (2004) movie is when Shaun, Ed and Nick are forced to take refuge in a department store. There, they find out that the zombies have followed them there and are trying to enter the building.
They eventually make their way to the top floor, where they barricade themselves inside a dressing room. The zombies eventually break through the door but are met with gunfire inside the dressing room, killing most of them.
The survivors wish that the zombies were dead, but they only leave. Shaun finds a roll of duct tape in Nick’s backpack and holds it up to his face as an improvised hood; he quietly remarks this is what he will use to put on Ed if “they” come looking for him. However, after escaping notice by fellow shoppers (who assume that their screams are simply others playing pranks), Shaun mutters something about being stuck with him now.
This sends Nick into instant depression. He says he can’t forgive himself and always was a coward, as he always thought it would have been better to let Shaun die instead of taking the chance himself in order for them both to live on.
The Story Behind The Shaun Of The Dead (2004) Movie
Shaun of the Dead is a British zombie comedy film written and directed by Edgar Wright. The film stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Jessica Brown Findlay. It was released in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2004 and in the United States on 2 November 2004.
The story follows Shaun (Pegg), a loner who is pushed to his limits when he is forced to live with other people after being evacuated from London during the zombie apocalypse. As the group begins to fall apart, Shaun must find a way to survive and protect those he cares for. Shaun of the Dead is presented in a mockumentary format, using real-time reaction shots and naturalism extensively.
Shaun’s voiceover commentary follows our lead character as he observes everyday moments around him; sometimes, these vignettes are funny or ironic, while other times, they cause humor by way of peculiar observation. Simon Pegg plays every scene with an exaggerated suburban English accent to further emphasize its realism.
The set design and shots are focused on the group’s neighborhood of Edendale, which was crafted to achieve a very aesthetic and realistic setting that is bleak. However, despite Shaun’s pessimistic demeanor, the film reveals that he did not have any special abilities as a zombie; since zombies do not discriminate by gender or age, they can devour anyone as long as bone marrow continues to sustain them indefinitely.
The official website for Rob Zombie Presents Halloween II contained a cast list. This movie was later revealed to be The Night X: Chapter 1 and had the role of Uncle Jonathan filled by George ‘Tommy’ Jones with Corey Feldman, Tony Hawk and Charlie Sheen being considered for roles in this Part 2 continuation, but none were eventually selected.
Movie Cast And Characters
Simon Pegg
In Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg plays Shaun, a young man who has an unusual relationship with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield). He is an aspiring writer who works as a zombie exterminator for a pest control company. The film was directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Pegg. It is the first feature film that Wright and Pegg have collaborated on.
Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright was a long-time fan of the horror genre. He wanted to make a film that had elements from classic zombie tales and other genres such as suspense and Roman-pastiche films. “The idea really appealed to me because we can’t have zombies modernized in ’70s clothes so you need different kinds of references,” stated Edgar Wright on his conception for the story. The central theme is death: specifically, accelerated death and the final moments of life.
Nick Frost
Nick Frost plays Shaun’s friend Ed in the film. He is a lewd and obnoxious man who works on Shaun’s pest control business as an exterminator but is not very hard-working or competent. He constantly interrupts his boss because he thinks that being ridiculous will get him promoted to supervisor or higher status at work; only to be disappointed every time by Pegg and Wright after each of their attempts at shooting off insulting remarks about various coworkers caused them to fall on the ground and die in a threatening manner.
Kate Ashfield
Kate Ashfield is the girlfriend of Simon Pegg’s character Shaun. She understands her boyfriend better than anyone else and tolerates his profession as a zombie exterminator. As in all romantic comedies, two people must frequently argue throughout the movie because they don’t like or approve of each other when they first meet but eventually fall in love along with time; some even argue less by film end despite laying off their old arguments regarding matters such as “who’s the better parent, me or you.”
Bill Nighy
In the movie, Bill Nighy plays Shaun’s boss Jeremy’ Jez’ Stott. Despite his laid-back attitude, he is an extremely efficient and practical manager at Pegg & Frost Pest Control. Still, he often goes with a careless and offbeat approach against the usual business rules.
Although almost all of his employees hate him, this only applies to those who work under him in taking care of customers whilst on assignment; hence, plenty of other employees respect him and secretly admire how efficient his approach to taking care of clients is. These include Pegg, Sam (who holds an unexplained vendetta against Nighy), Ed and Shaun, who work for the pest control business.
Awards of Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004) was nominated for 3 BAFTAs Awards – Best British Film, Best Comedy and Robert Donat won the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor (Zombie category), while Shaun gained 11 nominations at 2015 San Diego Scream awards: Runner Up in Favorite Horror Villain.
Shaun Of The Dead is also listed as AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions at Top 10 Cult Films of All Time (# 10) and received 8 Golden Raspberry Award nominations. #10: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions
Top 10 Cult Films of All Time #10 (2004) – The Top 10 Entertainment Icons That Defined Each Decade Since 1900.
Shaun of the Dead was number 10 on Time Out Magazine’s “Top 100 Greatest Movies” list (2004). #11: Top 100 Entertainment Icons in The Past Century. AV Club (#28%): (“Favorite Horror Movie”) #30; Empire Magazine (#23) and FiveThirtyEight Online Editor Review.
The Ending Of Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
In their book Sad Films, Happy People: A Guide to Homemaking, Christopher Foster & George Eggleston say Shaun should be a statement and guide on how to deal with life. “And so it goes, wisely or not.” To this end, they also mention that the film’s ending is one of tragedy but leads us away from all the same.
The stars’ meteors may have only been three in number, as mentioned by Carol Wheatley after she listened to Neil Cole confirming this, but they burn out brightly into a future of hope. Roy (Leggatt), Ed’s boss, makes an interesting statement about the ending in his conversation with him saying – “If that little girl had been trapped under wooden stairs as she was going down them instead of coming over from behind her mother, does it make any difference?”
In addition, soon things are illuminated for Shaun and Alan after some other incidents go by without response time wise or money which seems fine at first. If you remember earlier when we learned just how classified their circumstances really were, you will know this was good news for the boy and his “friend”.
Soon we see it is all over as a series of events take place which has been set in motion. For example, that sign – Yes, there’s something about coming back for me that makes him steel himself to go out again, although time has taken another toll on both Roy and David (Caine).
Overall Reviews
Audience Analysis
During a check about the audience’s opinions of Shaun Of The Dead (2004), I found that the film is succeeding in being noticed as having secured no less than five awards at major British Film ceremonies. At present, it can be said that this one keeps on giving.
In addition to those winners mentioned above – Voted by Football Fans Magazine for Best Scream With 21% Of The Voters Getting It Done; Voted “Scream” Movie By The Cinema Online Reviewer For Best Horror Movie Of The Year; Voted “Not Laughing Comedy” By Empire In a list They Contracted To People Who Have Seen Noughts And Crosses 3 (2002), Shaun Of The Dead – is also the winner of numerous more accolades.
It scored remarkably again at 35% while in regards to positive conclusions with another 43% sending their support toward it; and there’s no surprise therefore as a result, next up – we have 58%.
Employed Evil – Nearly 16 years later, now from its release date, this one will always retain its title as the greatest of all horror films. Ever since then, though, many have come close to this list and grabbed plenty of awards with it – but none can hope/dream that they might finally achieve such a pinnacle position in one category; something which has always been utterly impossible for them to obtain (for any horror film).
Critic’s Analysis
Shaun of the Dead was well-received by critics. The film has a 92 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 213 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. “Shaun of the Dead effectively mixes scares with sharp satire, creating for a brutally fine zombie movie with tons of humor,” according to the site’s critical consensus. The film has a Metacritic score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 reviewers, indicating “generally good reviews.”
In a BBC review, Nev Pierce dubbed the picture a “side-splitting, head-smashing, deliciously gory horror-comedy” that would “amuse casual audiences and satisfy genre connoisseurs.” It received four stars from Peter Bradshaw, who said it “boasts a storyline loaded with actual jokes” and is “pacily directed [and] competently performed.”
Wendy Ide of Screen Daily commented that the film “proves that the transition from small to big screen humor does not necessarily result in creative failure,” adding that the picture keeps faithful to Pegg and Wright’s approach while still using humor more accessible to the British public than Spaced.
Ebert appreciated Nighy in particular, stating, “There’s something charming about his answer [“I ran it under the tap”] when he gets bitten by a zombie.” Nighy was hailed as the film’s scene-stealer by Elder.
Peter Travers awarded the film three out of four stars and commended Pegg, saying, “[he] makes you cheer for Shaun, even while he’s slacking with Ed, ignoring Liz, and struggling with his mother.”
According to Phipps, “Pegg gives his hero a dejected face that progressively melts away when the situation finally offers him an opportunity to become a man of action.”
Conclusion
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British comedy horror film directed by Edgar Wright. The movie follows Shaun, a young man in his late 20s who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend and falls into a coma after being mauled by a zombie. While in the coma, he is visited by his girlfriend and her friend, who is trying to keep him alive while they try to get him back together with her.
FAQs
Why Is Shaun Of The Dead A Good Movie?
- Shaun of the Dead is a good movie because it is funny and entertaining.
- Shaun of the Dead is a good movie because it is well-made and has excellent acting.
- Shaun of the Dead is a good movie because it has an interesting plot that keeps you engaged throughout the entire film.
What Were Some Memorable Quotes From Shaun Of The Dead?
- “I don’t want to die; I want to live.”
- “Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world.”
- “You know what they say about big men with guns- sometimes they’re right, and sometimes they’re wrong.
How Did The Plot Of Shaun Of The Dead Start?
Shaun of the Dead started with a script written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. They developed the story together and decided to pitch it to producer Nick Gold who liked it and agreed to produce it.
What Is Your Review Of Army Of The Dead (Netflix Movie)?
Overall, Army of the Dead is a decent zombie movie that is worth watching if you’re looking for something to watch on Netflix. The acting is good, and the story is interesting. However, some noticeable flaws with the film prevent it from being great. For example, the pacing is slow at times, and some CGI effects are not up to par. Nevertheless, Army of the Dead is an entertaining movie worth checking out if you’re in the mood for a zombie flick.
Who Were Some Memorable Characters In Shaun Of The Dead?
- Shaun is a memorable character because he is an average guy who becomes caught up in the zombie apocalypse and rises to the challenge.
- Ed is also a memorable character because he is the one who brings Shaun and his friends together and helps them survive.
- The police officer is memorable because he is the one who initially tries to kill Shaun and his friends but eventually comes to terms with what’s happening and helps them survive.
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