Screened as part of NZIFF 2004

Shaun of the Dead 2004

Directed by Edgar Wright

UK In English
99 minutes 35mm

Director

Screenplay

Simon Pegg
,
Edgar Wright

Photography

David M. Dunlap

Editor

Chris Dickens

Music

Daniel Mudford
,
Pete Woodhead

With

Simon Pegg
,
Kate Ashfield
,
Lucy Davis
,
Nick Frost

Elsewhere

This laddish spin on the zombie classic Dawn of the Dead was a huge hit in the UK. Fans of Re-Animator, get ready; the team behind the cult TV show Spaced has made a (very) bloody-smart horror-comedy that delivers equal doses of humour and viscera. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a slacker who shares a house with his best pal (Nick Frost), a slovenly couch potato. Shaun’s whole existence revolves around visits to the pub, much to his girlfriend’s chagrin. With such a near-comatose lifestyle, he fails to notice that strange things are starting to occur around him. There are dead people walking the streets and news reports about a virus. Oblivious to the mayhem, he’s more interested in patching up his dire relationship with his girlfriend, until a blood-stained zombie gatecrashes his world. With all hell breaking loose, Shaun (armed with cricket bat and Dire Straits LPs) wants to gather the people he loves and hide out in his local pub. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exactly go to plan. A sure-fire crowd pleaser that is so genuinely affable you can’t help being seduced by its charm. — Ant Timpson