Shaun of the Dead (Blu-ray)
It’s the zombie apocalypse – time for a laugh
Tags: Shaun of the Dead Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 25th, 2009
I am perhaps the last of my peers who are into “genre” films that has seen Shaun of the Dead. It wasn’t because of any resistance on my part, because from the trailers that I had seen before the film arrived in theaters it appeared to be worth checking out. Then various life circumstances prevented me from seeing it in theaters. Then it came out on home video, and I missed it again. While Shaun of the Dead holds appeal to me, my wife not at all.
So I finally was able to catch the film for myself after having heard so much about it when Shaun of the Dead arrived on Blu-ray. And it was pretty much everything it had been hyped up to be. A real homage to the zombie genre, it doesn’t fall into the trappings of parody. The humor instead comes from the situations and are genuinely funny.
Tossed into the zombie attack is a guy who can’t get his life sorted out, and as a result is having trouble with his girlfriend. Then there’s the issue with Shaun and his mother. Shaun’s best friend isn’t helping matters any. Sometimes it takes a crisis of absolutely epic proportions in order to see what a man is capable of. For some it is when a city is devastated by a hurricane, for others it’s the zombie apocalypse.
Shaun isn’t very happy with his life, but it’s his life, and comfortable nonetheless. He works as an appliance salesman, slogging through the drudgery of everyday life. Shaun and his best friend Ed would rather sit around and play videogames. Apparently Ed isn’t employed so he can do just that. Liz, wanting more out of life breaks things up with Shaun early in the film. Roommate trouble also rears up, as does an obligatory visit to mother’s. As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, apparently the zombie apocalypse happened overnight.
There was a great balance between humor and horror – you know not everybody is going to make it out alive. Or undead. The path to the film’s conclusion isn’t telegraphed, so the ending came as a bit of a surprise, but nicely so.
As for this Blu-ray edition of the film, it appears that we are getting all of the special features that were previously released. We get two audio commentaries, one with the director Edgar Wright and star Simon Pegg (both of whom wrote the script). The other commentary track features stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran. If you have time to listen to one commentary only, chose the first one.
Outtakes, deleted scenes, storyboards and a whole bunch of other stuff is included as well. A picture in picture features provides trivia as well as storyboard comparisons. Some of the special features are in standard definition, which is disappointing.
Shaun of the Dead is a great combination of comedy and horror that isn’t really scary, but still manages to provide a few good creepy moments. It’s funny and highly enjoyable, which is all you really want in a zombie comedy.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Genuinely funny + Good homage to the genre |
8.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - Special features in standard definition | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you're at all interested, Shaun of the Dead is certainly worth checking out. This Blu-ray isn't as spectacuar as it should be, but still worth its price. | |
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Tags: Shaun of the Dead
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 25th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
