ZaC #11: Shaun of the Dead

Title: Shaun of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Written By: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: We own it

Trivia:

• The phrase "fried gold" originated behind the scenes of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes andEdgar Wright's sitcom Spaced and was mentioned several times on the DVD commentaries for that series. It makes several fan-pleasing appearances in the film.
• When Shaun, Liz, David, Dianne, Barbara and Ed run into the alternative 'gang' as they make their way to the Winchester, there are quite a few comedy partnerships brought together again. Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes - Tim and Daisy from Spaced. Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman - Dawn and Tim from The Office. Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig - Bernard and Fran from Black Books. Julia Deakin and Nick Frost are, of course, in Spaced too, as Marsha and Mike respectively.
• Shaun (Simon Pegg) complains that Ed (Nick Frost) isn't his boyfriend, then says, "Thanks, babe." In season one of Spaced, a conversation begins in a similar manner between the two actors ("All right, babe?"). This was, however, a total mistake. The writers used the same joke again, forgetting they had used it in Spaced.
• When Shaun and the group are running out of Liz's flat they are all carrying weapons of some kind, but only Shaun actually hits any zombies. This was because only the cricket bat that Shaun was carrying was a padded fake, all the other items were real and would have hurt the extras playing zombies if they had been hit with them.
• According to writer-director Edgar Wright in the DVD commentary, when Ed attempts to cheer Shaun up at the Winchester with plans of binge drinking, he is actually summarizing the events of the next day (Z-day) entirely in drinking references. "Bloody Mary" - Checkout Girl, "Bite at the king's head" - Phillip, "Couple" - David and Di, "Little Princess" - Liz, "Stagger back" - impersonate zombies, "Bar For Shots" - firing rifle.
• Just when Shaun is exiting the Indian-run deli, which is tuned to a radio station playing songs from Indian movies, the song stops and a newscaster begins speaking in Hindi. The content of the news, when translated in English, is, "People are waking up from their graves."
• Shaun walks past a road sign for Weston Park which is a street in Crouch End, London, the same locale as Spaced and where Simon Pegg now lives.
• Shaun tells Liz that he's going to take her to "the place that does all the fish". When he opens the phone book you can see that the restaurant is literally called 'The Place That Does All the Fish'.
• When asked by an interviewer why they chose to have slow moving zombies instead of running zombies, Simon Pegg simply replied, "Because death is not an energy drink."

Summary: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Review: 

One of my absolute favorite movies.  I love every minute of Shaun of the Dead: the great on liners, the visuals, the references to other tv show stars, the homages to other zombie movies.  It never fails.  Every time I watch, I laugh my ass off and see something that I missed before.  All of the inside jokes between Frost and Pegg make the movie even more fun.  And can I just say that Bill Nighy as a zombie is just genius.

Best Bits (so many best bits!): 

• Dianne: SHAUN!  [Dianne throws a dart and misses]  Shaun: NO!  [Dianne throws another dart and hits the zombie]  Shaun: YES, yes, in the head!  [Dianne throws a third dart and hits Shaun in the head on accident]  Shaun: AHHHHHHHHH!
• [Shaun hits the zombie pub owner with the butt of the rifle]  Ed: Why didn't you just shoot him, man?  Shaun: Ed, for the last time...  [Shaun squeezes the trigger of the gun, and it actually fires!]  Ed: [gleefully] I fucking knew it!
• Shaun: [about Ed] He's not my boyfriend!  Ed: [handing beer to Shaun] It might be a bit warm, the cooler's off.  Shaun: Thanks, babe.  [winks]
• Ed: Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?
• Ed: We're coming to get you, Barbara!
• [Shaun tries to get out of Philip's Jaguar]  Shaun: Philip, have you still got the child-locks on?  Philip: Safety first, Shaun.
• [describing the zombies]  Dianne: Just look at the face: it's vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet.
• [a jukebox begins playing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" while the zombie pub owner attacks the group]  Shaun: Who the hell put this on?  Ed: It's on random.  Liz: For fuck's sake!
• [Shaun has just fought a zombie unassisted]  Shaun: [sarcastically] Feel free to step in any time!  Ed: You did all right.  David: I didn't want to cramp your style.
• Shaun: David, kill the Queen!  David: What?  Shaun: The jukebox!
• Shaun: As Bertrand Russell once said, "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." I think we can all appreciate the relevance of that now.  Liz: Was that on a beer mat?  Shaun: Yeah, it was Guinness Extra Cold.  Liz: I won't say anything.  Shaun: Thanks.
• [David discovers that the zombies have somehow made it into the bar. Shaun, Ed and Liz are still beating the barman]  Shaun: Why is Queen still playing?  David: Ah, we have a situation here.  Shaun: I KNOW!
• Ed: [Directing Shaun on where to shoot] There!  Shaun: Where?  Ed: Three o'clock!  Dianne: Oh! Over there again. Quarter to twelve.  Shaun: What?  David: Eleven forty-five! Shaun: Keep it simple!  Ed: Top left!