Holiday Movie Review

I saw one incredibly funny and action packed romantic comedy holiday movie last night at Da-veed’s place. The main character is Shaun, a below average thirty-something who decides it’s high time to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother and his dad – sorry, step-dad – and trying to keep his flat mates/best friends from killing each other! Oh, and let’s not forget that he is trying to do all of this while fighting and trying to survive in a London that has gone to the dead… the undead.

The movie of which I speak is Shaun of the Dead and it isn't a simple spoof of the classic horror film Dawn Of The Dead, it's more a romantic comedy that just so happens to be littered with the shambling and hungry for living flesh zombies! Don’t let this turn you away from this very funny flick. If you love romance, action, British humor ala Brit-coms and Monty Python, scifi and horror than this is the film for you. The script is wonderful and throws up many comedic moments, such as when Shaun and his best friend and flatmate, Ed are looking through Shaun's LP collection for suitable vinyl to throw at two oncoming zombies, "Batman soundtrack?" "Throw it!" "Dire Straits?" "Chuck it!", or when Shaun and his friends beat up a zombie bartender in the pub using pool cues, all to the rhythm of Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. The film does a bit of genre hopping, but I think it works well. One minute it's a comedy, then it's a drama, then a romance, and then it's full blown horror. There are some good scares in this film too and you will jump out of your seat between laughing fits. There are also a few really horrific/gross moments, but not too many and they are well done. It is a spoof of zombie movies after all and zombie flicks are pretty gross. However these scenes are few and well spaced out, and you can always close your eyes. A point needs to be made about this flick and that is that you don't need to be a horror fan to enjoy it. Having a twisted sense of humor is all that is required. Can I explain it? Umm… no, I can’t. You'll know if the film's for you when you see it. I feel confident that most of my readers will really enjoy it. If you don't… well then you don’t. I make no guarantees as to your personal enjoyment of this film. Lynn, you probaly won't. I will say that is the most fun I have had with an action film since Kill Bill Volume 1. It is rare that a film comes along that is so funny, so dramatic (with some romance) and so brutal all at the same time. Know that there is nothing subtle about SotD, and yet some of it will simply go over the heads of some people. I say watch the film and decide for yourself if you love it or hate it. Like all films it's not without its faults and it does loose a little energy slightly during the third act but it comes back with a vengeance and gets in some absolutely hysterical jokes just before the credits roll. What makes this a holiday film? Well actually nothing other than the fact that I watched it during the holidays and will again and I'll be drinking a Zombie while I do. Merry Christmas everyone.