Shaun of the Dead
Dir: Edgar Wright
Star: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Dylan Moran
Horror-comedy is an easy genre to do, but a very difficult genre to do well - usually, one side or the other suffers. However, Shaun is a film that can stand proudly along classics like Evil Dead 2 or Re-Animator, for this is not only the best comedy of 2004, it's the best horror film as well. The basic set-up is straight Romero; to escape the threat of the living-dead, Shaun (Pegg) leads his motley band to find a safe haven. Everything else, however, is pure genius, starting with a hero so engrossed in his petty life, that until the threat stumbles into his garden, he doesn't even notice it. The audience will, however, thanks to a clever use of TV and unsettling imagery, though the first half does concentrate more on the comedy of Shaun's slobbish friend (Frost) and ambitious girlfriend (Ashfield) - even if her ambitions are merely not spending every night in the same pub.
As the epidemic spreads, the horror, almost subliminally at first, comes to the fore, until we are once again deep in Romero territory - though Wright and Pegg deliver cliches like "the infected friend" with enough sincerity to overpower their familiarity. The only weak spot is the method used to reach sanctuary, through a horde of (refreshingly old-school and shambling) zombies; it's clunky, then conveniently forgotten once they're trapped inside. Otherwise, this is one of those very rare films that works on multiple levels, engaging all emotions. How it'll play outside Britain, I don't know - is the rest of the world aware of Cornettos and Breville sandwich toasters? - but I suspect that while some jokes may suffer, easily enough will get through. Perhaps the film's best achievement is reclaiming the words "British comedy", which are no longer inextricably linked to Hugh Grant. For that alone, fall down on your knees and give thanks.
A
September 2004
|
|
