Shaun of the Dead
Focus Features | Release Date: September 24, 2004
8.5
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Universal acclaim based on 901 Ratings
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7
ComandanteCobraJan 6, 2021
Funny British humour, easy movie. The first half of the movie was interesting (brilliant mockery of everyday zombi-like attitudes of people) but the second half dragged (the classic Zombie attacks).
I watched it very late..16 years after hisFunny British humour, easy movie. The first half of the movie was interesting (brilliant mockery of everyday zombi-like attitudes of people) but the second half dragged (the classic Zombie attacks).
I watched it very late..16 years after his relase and maybe that has had an impact on my experience.
Best viewed in English dub even if yor'not a native English speaker (with subtitles if needed)… Expand
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9
TyyroneMuggaOct 18, 2022
Interest 9/10
Characters 9.5/10
Cinematography/Set 8/10
Story 9/10
Acting 8/10
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8
MovieMasterEddyApr 3, 2016
There is something intrinsically ridiculous about zombie movies. No matter how scary they want to be, the spectacle of famished corpses lurching and groaning with their insatiable hunger for flesh and blood is worth at least a titter. TheThere is something intrinsically ridiculous about zombie movies. No matter how scary they want to be, the spectacle of famished corpses lurching and groaning with their insatiable hunger for flesh and blood is worth at least a titter. The British horror comedy "Shaun of the Dead" skillfully plays off that ridiculousness by implying that Britain may already be populated with the living dead, metaphorically speaking.

By treating the genre as a joke, this satire, whose title plays off George A. Romero's 1979 golden oldie, "Dawn of the Dead," yields ironic dramatic dividends. As the number of zombies popping out of their graves multiplies exponentially, the monster population density on the streets of North London makes things increasingly creepy. The motley Londoners who face down the creatures are so inept and unthinking in their response to the catastrophe that the uncharitable part of you may decide that they deserve their probable (but not guaranteed) fates during what panicked television commentators label Z-Day.

Simon Pegg, who wrote the screenplay with the director, Edgar Wright, plays the title character, a hapless 29-year-old clerk in an appliance store who is still living a chaotic frat-house existence with two roommates. When the zombies strike, Shaun foolishly imagines that if he and his friends can make their way to the friendly neighborhood pub, the Winchester, they will be safe.

The movie follows their embattled journey through London fighting zombies and scaling backyard fences as they plod toward their supposed sanctuary.

Along the way they happen upon a box of old LP's and pause long enough to argue about which precious discs to sacrifice by deploying them as head-severing missiles. But when they toss albums by Sade and others at enemy throats, their aim is off.

As for that sanctuary, never mind that the Winchester has windows that can be smashed and that it harbors no reserves of food more nutritious than barroom snacks. Shaun's blind faith that the seedy pub in which he has soused himself on many an evening is one of the film's biggest jokes.

The movie, which opens today nationwide, allows the diminishing flock of survivors in Shaun's entourage one genuinely clever maneuver: on their way to the pub, they avoid being noshed to death by passing themselves off as fellow twitching corpses in the zombie parade.

Accompanying Shaun on his pilgrimage to safety are his best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), a loutish, idiotic practical joker who seems to suffer from terminal attention-deficit disorder; Shaun's on-again, off-again sweetheart, Liz (Kate Ashfield); and her roommates, Dianne (Lucy Davis) and David (Dylan Moran).

The movie's silliest character is Shaun's indefatigably prim and polite mother, Barbara (Penelope Wilton), who, late in the game, meekly confesses that she sustained a zombie bite and will soon metamorphose into a monster. Her transformation prompts the movie's cruelest joke, in which her weeping son blasts Mommy's head off with a rifle.… Expand
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9
CalibMcBoltsMay 30, 2016
This is a movie where i had some of the most fun watching a movie ever.
It has every component this movie needs, it has snappy dialogue, great physical humor, a perfect story, great acting as always from Simon Pegg (and the rest of theThis is a movie where i had some of the most fun watching a movie ever.
It has every component this movie needs, it has snappy dialogue, great physical humor, a perfect story, great acting as always from Simon Pegg (and the rest of the cast), suspenseful and eerie moments, and just moments of sheer banter.
I recommend this movie to every moviegoer out there, even though you might not like Zombie movies (I'm not even a fan of zombie movies, only a select few) you're still going to have a great time watching Shaun of the Dead.… Expand
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10
miccaelJul 31, 2021
The best Edgar Wright movie, amazing editing, funny story and great writing, of course - the cast is top notch too
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9
64bitDec 18, 2019
Timesplitters 2 reference, killing zombies and laugh out loud humor... this film is top shelf comedy and scratches that zombie movie itch!
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10
DjtOct 28, 2016
Great characters, hilarious jokes, awesome visual style, great soundtrack and some of the most memorable kills ever, this film has it all. How's that for a slice of fried gold?
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9
marymaebennettOct 7, 2017
What a wild and fun ride! Everyone who's been saying this movie was a hoot is absolutely right! It's clever and quite enjoyable! The characters played off each other. The comical style worked delightfully. There were so many memorableWhat a wild and fun ride! Everyone who's been saying this movie was a hoot is absolutely right! It's clever and quite enjoyable! The characters played off each other. The comical style worked delightfully. There were so many memorable moments, such as the fence, Queen, and the vinyls. While profanity is used frequently, I feel like it's a generational film a tween, a teen, a college kid, and parent could all find something out of. I've personally only seen Scott Pilgrim and Baby Driver. This made me like Baby Driver less because everything that movie was trying to achieve was in this one! The only thing I didn't like was the ending felt really out of place and immediately took me out of the film. I'm so pumped that there are two more in the Cornetto Trilogy and I'll be checking out Spaced as well!… Expand
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10
CoreGamer1408Oct 10, 2021
Quintessential British experience.

It knows when to be serious drama. It knows when to be a funny comedy. Not many films can make both of those work all the time and so seamlessly. Masterfully put together for sure. Let's just say Shaun theQuintessential British experience.

It knows when to be serious drama. It knows when to be a funny comedy. Not many films can make both of those work all the time and so seamlessly. Masterfully put together for sure.

Let's just say Shaun the character his own worst enemy (no spoilers).… Expand
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10
Rcavey92212Apr 3, 2020
Back in the day Fangoria sent me and my friends to an advance screening of this in NYC. There was hardly anyone there and they actually pulled people in off the street I remember there being this large family there with babies. Despite thatBack in the day Fangoria sent me and my friends to an advance screening of this in NYC. There was hardly anyone there and they actually pulled people in off the street I remember there being this large family there with babies. Despite that inconvenience, the lights went off and the movie began and me and my friends were introduced to one of the best movies of all time. We laughed, screamed and cried and when the lights came up to out delight a handsome Simon Pegg and Nick Frost greeted us when we were leaving and signed some posters. They were truly the nicest guys and the movie still holds up perfectly. It's so funny and witty with great makeup and truly amazing performances. Unfortunately it wasn't a hit while in theaters but has since become a well deserved cult classic.

Budget: $6m
Domestic Box Office: $14m
Worldwide Box Office: $30m

5/5… Expand
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7
amheretojudgeJan 16, 2018
last orders, please..

Shaun Of The Dead

It's funny, to the point and exciting; Simon Pegg upbeats all the cult keys that were missing lately on semi comic movies.
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8
AndrewBurgeApr 14, 2018
Edgar Wright's 'Shaun of the Dead' is branded as a comedy-horror but, mind you, despite being made by the funnymen Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I dare to say it is more horror that comedy. Not that it isn't funny, of course, but the humor isEdgar Wright's 'Shaun of the Dead' is branded as a comedy-horror but, mind you, despite being made by the funnymen Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I dare to say it is more horror that comedy. Not that it isn't funny, of course, but the humor is slightly tame.

Arguably described as probably the worst day of a working class man going nowhere and his lazy friend which occasionally sells drugs, by occasionally I mean once... in college... to his aforementioned friend, 'Shaun of the Dead' is a social satire more or less in which the flesh eating zombies are more of a nuisance to the characters' daily problems than a proper threat.

And this is, apart from the great directing, what makes this film so engaging to watch. As much as the mindless walking dead are a life-threatening problem, the characters' societal norms and personal issues of love and friendship seem to be on their forefront as while they struggle to survive in the now zombie-infested town they do not miss any opportunity to bark at each other. This is made even more funnier as the zombies move at a really slow pace, so even though they are close instead of running away from them, Shaun and his entourage would rather stand and bicker, maybe occasionally glancing at the distance of the undead.

But despite this great writing, is the directing which sets the film apart as the news of the zombie outbreak is constantly delayed, and as you stand there paranoid just waiting for the inevitable to happen, the apocalyptic moment is so much set aside that by the time it actually happens, you do not even expect it anymore... you got used to it. But when the zombies finally 'come to life', the few fights against them are filmed through beautiful tracking shots, barely cutting, almost as a transition from the every day arguments to the proper action-comedy zombie killing scenes.

Still, as I said, while this film is funny, unlike many other comedy films, it does not depreciate the danger of such an event, as characters die, and friends and even family members are sacrificed and it can be a bit emotional.

Therefore, 'Shaun of the Dead' is a near-perfect mix of comedy, tragedy and horror and a social satire to the routine of the modern class working man. A man who is so much like a zombie that he barely notices a real one from a fake one!… Expand
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10
JettNotJeffAug 24, 2018
Shaun of the dead is genius. Edgar Wright's superb visual comedy mixed with a brilliant plot brings an extraordinary movie to our screens. I do believe though that the main attraction of this movie is the visual comedy that Edgar Wright (theShaun of the dead is genius. Edgar Wright's superb visual comedy mixed with a brilliant plot brings an extraordinary movie to our screens. I do believe though that the main attraction of this movie is the visual comedy that Edgar Wright (the director) is so well known for, it's a style of comedy long since forgotten by Hollywood but Wright always brings his own style of moviemaking into the mix opposing Hollywood. But that's just the directing, the acting in this movie is superb too especially the match made in heaven Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Not to mention the main theme of the zombies the makeup in such a large crowd of extras. Another thing to mention is the movies subtle yet effective foreshadowing in the beginnings of scenes.… Expand
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9
DiptanshuApr 23, 2020
Amazing!great acting and music.story was decent!starting felt slow but once the cornetto scene came it was gold that scene was literally chilling and amazing laughed alot!the ed was amazingly hilarious the cell phone scene was gold!theAmazing!great acting and music.story was decent!starting felt slow but once the cornetto scene came it was gold that scene was literally chilling and amazing laughed alot!the ed was amazingly hilarious the cell phone scene was gold!the situations and gags were amazing ending was good!overall entertaining movie!… Expand
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10
DreniastApr 9, 2020
The greatest zombie movie of all time (up to 2020), excellent complex British humour
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10
KubaxikMay 28, 2022
Shaun of the dead, Hot fuzz and The world's end are my favourite comedies ever.
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8
NikopooOct 15, 2020
Not as good as Hot Fuzz but with a lot of the same good writing and creativity earning it some well deserved praise. Good movie that I enjoy going back to every now and again with a sense that there may be some bit of social commentary toldNot as good as Hot Fuzz but with a lot of the same good writing and creativity earning it some well deserved praise. Good movie that I enjoy going back to every now and again with a sense that there may be some bit of social commentary told in a humorous and light tone. Notable as well is that Simon Pegg is an extremely great actor in this as well as in Hot Fuzz especially and I feel as if he may be a bit overlooked for what he really offers.… Expand
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10
BaskApr 24, 2021
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6
Gamzguy17Aug 21, 2021
An effective comedy that pays heavy tribute to the zombie genre that more or less began with 1968's superb "Night of the Living Dead". The editing is tight and the effects are appropriately gruesome. Not all of the gags hit home with meAn effective comedy that pays heavy tribute to the zombie genre that more or less began with 1968's superb "Night of the Living Dead". The editing is tight and the effects are appropriately gruesome. Not all of the gags hit home with me though and if it were more ambitious, it would've written its characters with more care.… Expand
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10
SamWard660Sep 29, 2021
The movie is fantastic. Filled with great humour, good cinematography (+ subverts from classic zombie conventions) and fantastic casting. Wright did a fantastic job for this movie and would highly recommend watching it and it's even betterThe movie is fantastic. Filled with great humour, good cinematography (+ subverts from classic zombie conventions) and fantastic casting. Wright did a fantastic job for this movie and would highly recommend watching it and it's even better since it's in my film course.… Expand
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10
NickTheCritickNov 2, 2021
This movie is one of Edgar Wright's masterpieces, if not his absolute masterpiece. This first movie of the "Cornetto trilogy" is both scary and funny, it makes you laugh one time and jump on the sofa one minute later. This is simply SUPERB.This movie is one of Edgar Wright's masterpieces, if not his absolute masterpiece. This first movie of the "Cornetto trilogy" is both scary and funny, it makes you laugh one time and jump on the sofa one minute later. This is simply SUPERB. All the genius of Edgar Wright in this hilarious and anguish movie. Acting is great here (comic duo Pegg-Frost is gorgeous) and directing is out of this world with Wright that shows to be able to direct extremely difficult action scenes coordinating them with music too. This is without a doubt the best Zombie movie of the XXI century and probabily the best Zombie movie ever made.… Expand
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9
HellHoleHorrorJul 5, 2023
This has to be my favourite homage to zombie films ever. Scrap that, this has to be one of my favourite zombie films ever. It combines utterly brilliant comedy with a story about the dead coming back to life. Shaun's best friend provides theThis has to be my favourite homage to zombie films ever. Scrap that, this has to be one of my favourite zombie films ever. It combines utterly brilliant comedy with a story about the dead coming back to life. Shaun's best friend provides the funniest single-lines and Shaun provides us with most of the story to fill our minds. It is as bloody as you would want for a rom-zom-com (romantic zombie comedy) film. Although the gore is not as prolonged as it would be in the films that it pays homage to. I love horror and I love comedy. This has both and does them both really well but mostly the comedy.… Expand
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7
royalguy07Mar 14, 2023
The genre blending is fun but it never quite got all the way there for me..
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8
liamexeNov 16, 2022
Is this movie supposed to be a comedy? The Dawn of the Dead remake, however, featured more humorous moments! I probably would have appreciated this movie more. The humour were stale, and the plot was conventional. The acting and makeup, whichIs this movie supposed to be a comedy? The Dawn of the Dead remake, however, featured more humorous moments! I probably would have appreciated this movie more. The humour were stale, and the plot was conventional. The acting and makeup, which were both at most passable, were the only things worth a second look. This is mostly targeted at the readily entertained teen market and townie population. If you want to watch something more interesting and humorous… Expand
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10
Maxisgoat1717Apr 9, 2023
Why it rocks: One of the OG parody films with some of the best characters I’ve ever seen in a movie. Despite all of the funny zombie moments, there is also some genuine emotional moments with great chemistry between the cast. It all justWhy it rocks: One of the OG parody films with some of the best characters I’ve ever seen in a movie. Despite all of the funny zombie moments, there is also some genuine emotional moments with great chemistry between the cast. It all just works so well and I can’t actually name anything bad about this movie.… Expand
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