Barnes & Noble

The title of this British-made black comedy gives everything away: Shaun is a cheeky send-up of zombie movies in general and George Romero's Dawn of the Dead in particular. Whereas the Romero film largely took place in a shopping mall, Shaun centers around the working-class pub where the eponymous protagonist (played with self-deprecating charm by Simon Pegg) and his best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), spend virtually all their spare time -- much to the chagrin of Shaun's girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), who gives the underachieving store clerk his walking papers just before a mysterious malady turns newly deceased villagers into bloodthirsty zombies. Gathering his sweetie, his mother, and some of his friends into the pub, Shaun demonstrates his mettle by mounting a spirited if ineffective defense against the ghoulish horde. Director Edgar Wright elicits lots of laughs by exploiting zombie lore to create farcical situations. For example, he has Shaun and Ed defend themselves against approaching zombies by flinging vintage record albums at their heads. (Everyone knows that's a zombie's most vulnerable spot.) And since the shuffling ex-cadavers move so sluggishly, the pals have just enough time to debate a record's merits before deciding whether to fling it. But Shaun isn't an Airplane-like spoof: Instead of parading an endless series of gags, it mixes mirth and mayhem cleverly, generating real suspense and even some pathos. The gore effects, principally inserted for laughs, are well done and convincing enough to pass the gross-out test, and the performers manage the neat trick of being humorous while remaining in character; no need to lose one's sense of humor just because one has been selected as the blue-plate special for a gaggle of gaping, flesh-eating zombies. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

It's often said that the true character of a man is only revealed in times of dire crisis, and for likable, lovelorn loser Shaun (Simon Pegg), that moment of reckoning came when the dead rose from their slumber to feast on the flesh of the living. A hapless electronics store employee who spends most of his spare time downing pints at the local pub with his roommate, Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun's life seems to fall apart when he is dumped by his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), and his obnoxious stepfather, Philip (Bill Nighy), shows up to berate him for not being more attentive to his caring mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) -- especially since he forgot to send flowers for her birthday. Things take a turn for the worse when the dead return to stake their claim on the Earth, and though the chaos that follows threatens to swallow up all of England, it's up to Shaun to keep his cool and prove himself once and for all by successfully rescuing Liz and his mother. With his trusty roommate by his side, nothing -- not even the living dead -- can stand between Shaun and the two most important women in his life. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 025195055598
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 1:40:00
• Sales Rank: 14,888

Features: