Last year it was 28 Days Later, a creepy little zombie thriller that was way too much fun. It also, arguably, had the best scary zombies ever, since you couldn't actually outrun these things!
This year we get Shaun of the Dead… one of the best movies I've seen all summer and, quite possibly, one of the best this year--certainly one of the funniest. As the title suggests, it sticks to the George Romero, Dawn of the Dead style zombie… slow, shambling creatures that overwhelm you with superior numbers rather than speed. What's cool here is the witty way it's all handled, from the slow shambling humans in the very beginning of the film to the winking reference to 28 Days Later at the end (make sure you listen to all the "chatter" from the TV throughout, if you want to catch all the humor). One of the best moments early on is when Shaun's channel surfing and, as he changes stations, he gets the whole story of what's going on outside his windows… he just doesn't realize it yet. Very fun. (Add to this a few honestly touching moments scattered through the film and you've got a very entertaining time at the movies.)
Now I've got to admit that I've never actually SEEN Dawn of the Dead (either the original, nor this year's remake) nor more than about the first 20 minutes of Night of the Living Dead (though what I remember of that 20 minutes is that it was damn creepy!) so I have no idea what other references or "homages" (talk about an overused word these days!) there may be in "Shaun", but now I'm looking forward to finally catching up on these movies, just to see what I may be missing. And to finally getting the crap scared out of me by Night.
This year we get Shaun of the Dead… one of the best movies I've seen all summer and, quite possibly, one of the best this year--certainly one of the funniest. As the title suggests, it sticks to the George Romero, Dawn of the Dead style zombie… slow, shambling creatures that overwhelm you with superior numbers rather than speed. What's cool here is the witty way it's all handled, from the slow shambling humans in the very beginning of the film to the winking reference to 28 Days Later at the end (make sure you listen to all the "chatter" from the TV throughout, if you want to catch all the humor). One of the best moments early on is when Shaun's channel surfing and, as he changes stations, he gets the whole story of what's going on outside his windows… he just doesn't realize it yet. Very fun. (Add to this a few honestly touching moments scattered through the film and you've got a very entertaining time at the movies.)
Now I've got to admit that I've never actually SEEN Dawn of the Dead (either the original, nor this year's remake) nor more than about the first 20 minutes of Night of the Living Dead (though what I remember of that 20 minutes is that it was damn creepy!) so I have no idea what other references or "homages" (talk about an overused word these days!) there may be in "Shaun", but now I'm looking forward to finally catching up on these movies, just to see what I may be missing. And to finally getting the crap scared out of me by Night.
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