If what George Bernard Shaw says is true - that dying is easy, but comedy is hard - Horror/Comedy must be hardest of them all. Most films that label themselves as “Horror/Comedy” are really nothing more than campy, intentional “B” movies that are simply trying to be fun and ‘cool’. Nothing wrong with that, of course. There are a lot of fun “B” movies, but most of the time with these films what passes for Horror is just blood ’n guts, and what passes for comedy is simply the ‘over-the-top’ nature of the situation. In the end, there’s just not much substance to the vast majority of these films since, as a general rule, neither the Horror or the Comedy are taken particularly seriously. One wonderful exception to this is the 2004 British import; SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
More under the squiggle!
Writer /star Simon Pegg and writer/director Edgar Wright figured out that in order for the comedy to work, the horror has to work - and vice-versa. Consequently, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is actually a damn good zombie movie as well as utterly hilarious. Adhering closely to the traditional cinematic mythologies of the Zombie movie, Pegg and his co-star Nick Frost expertly play two immature average guys who are caught up in a situation that they seem to totally understand (they’ve seen Zombie movies after all), yet they still manage to get every decision wrong. As they traverse suburban London in search of their families and loved ones, you totally root for these man-children as they grow, ever so gradually, into their roles as leaders and protectors.
This all works because nothing was skimped on with the production of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The Zombie effects make-up is top-notch, the storytelling is tight and fast-paced, and the performances are hilarious while still being real. On top of all this, SHAUN OF THE DEAD also contains the best use of Queen's "You're My Best Friend" ever in film.
This movie is constantly referenced as a case-study in how to do Horror/Comedy the right way, yet few films have come out since that have even tried this movie’s formula. This attests to just how difficult making a good Horror/Comedy can be. It is also a testament to just how right SHAUN OF THE DEAD got it.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD fun facts - The video game that Shaun and Ed play at the beginning and end of the movie is “Timesplitters 2” on the Playstation 2.
Chris Martin, singer of Coldplay, plays a zombie in the film.
All of the television newscasters are real people portraying themselves.
Ed - “Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?”
Shaun - “As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about.”
Ed - “I'm sorry, Shaun.”
Shaun - “It's OK.”
Ed - “No, I'm sorry, Shaun.”
Shaun - “What?”
(smells Ed's fart)
Shaun - “Oh, God, that's rotten!”
Ed - “I'll stop doing it when you stop laughing!”
Shaun - “I am not laughing!”