THE MOST RELENTLESSLY AWESOME FILMS EVER - PART FOUR:
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Here's a probably not at-all-interesting, and mostly
pointless fact related to 'Shaun of the Dead': this film has the honour of
being the only one I've been to the cinema to watch with my Dad. The weekend it came out my parents had just
separated, and me and my then-girlfriend (the less said about her the better!
*shudders*) decided it might take Dad's mind off things and cheer him up a bit
to take him to the cinema. I don't know
whether he found it took his mind off things, or cheered him up, or if he actually
enjoyed it all (I can remember him saying afterwards something along the lines
of 'that wasn't exactly the greatest film I've ever seen'!). Goodness knows what he made of it at all to
be honest; I'm not sure if the humour was his kind of thing, or whether he
appreciated the romantic bits, or the zombie bits, either. Whilst I don't think any of it was his type
of thing, 'Shaun's (till then) unique blend of genres - all the time taking
treating them with the utmost seriousness and respect - really struck a chord
with audiences, and it remains Simon Pegg's and Edgar Wright's best known and
arguably most loved work.
Here's another story - but first I feel that I should be
open and say that I am the type of person who feels a very intimate connection
to Pegg & Wright's work - almost a 'spiritual' one, if you will. This is a connection based on the fact when
these two collaborate on something, they do so from a place which shows they
*get* whatever subject they're looking at, in the same way true fans do -
because they *are* true fans. The moment
I felt this connection was when I watched the third Episode of their seminal TV
series 'Spaced', way back in the early '00's.
My first brush with this TV show was the second Episode - I can remember
enjoying it, being drawn to a more down-to-earth setting for a comedy (a humble
bed-sit - sorry, flat!), in contrast for the trend at the time for US sitcoms
featuring pretty-vacant 30-somethings passing themselves as 20-somethings; I
think I also appreciated that the character's had posters up of their favourite
films and TV shows/characters - just like I did at the time. I enjoyed it, and next week when the next episode was on I tuned in.
Within a minute of it starting, my mind was absolutely
blown. You see, at the time I had a
weird 'obsession' with the Resident Evil video games - I say 'weird obsession',
it was more like a form of PTSD, as since playing them a year or two earlier I
had frequently had zombie apocalypse based nightmares - all set at that point were
the barricades on wherever I've been surviving come down, and the zombie horde
gets in! However, since then I've been a
big fan of zombies in films, comics, TV and videogames. So when Pegg & Wright included a Resident Evil-inspired segment at the start of that particular episode I was absolutely
stunned. It was as though they'd got in
to my head and scooped out exactly how that game had messed with my brain, the
frightening daydreams and nightmares I'd had as a result of playing with
it. This programme, these
writers/actors/director had really grasped what was going on in my head at the
time, in a way no other TV show had ever done.
So since that moment, yeah, I've got a special fondness for Pegg, Wright
and their frequent collaborators.
Whilst people frequently link 'Shaun' with that episode
of Spaced, I think it's easy to forget what an unprecedented thing they were
doing, both with the film and that moment in the TV show. You see, though it's difficult to believe
now, but there was a time when zombies weren't in the mainstream - there
weren't zombie films and TV shows starring award-winning and A-list actors;
there weren't award winning books and comics involving zombies; there weren't
as many games featuring zombies as there are now. They were still very much a cult thing - to
be honest, I never really 'got' zombies until I played the Resident Evil games
(the first two, anyway); sure, I'd seen 'Night of the Living Dead' as a
teenager, but while I appreciated its heart of darkness I can't say I found it
frightening or truly disturbing. But
because of those games, I went on to check out Romero's seminal works - 'Dawn'
and 'Day' - and finally I GOT zombies.
So when 'Shaun' was released, along with '28 Days Later'
and the 'Dawn of the Dead' remake, mainstream audiences were finally ready to
embrace the zombie apocalypse (in its varying degrees of speed and cause, if
you're being pedantic!). What makes
'Shaun' stand out from those films, apart from the fact it's not a flat-out
horror, is that it does zombies very, very seriously - properly, some would
argue. Looking back, it's surprising
that audiences embraced this element of the film, because if there was ever any
doubt 'Shaun' is a PROPER Zombie film, it's at that point when Dylan Moran is
pulled apart by the hungry dead. But
Shaun is also a proper Rom-Com, too - and arguably because of Pegg &
Wright's appreciation of genre, the three elements work together
perfectly. People who fully appreciated
Romero's zombie movies always knew there was a openly satirical element to
them, and Pegg & Wright use this to make the zombie and comedy parts of the
film complement each other; my favourite scene, and one of the funniest, is
where Shaun - hung-over from the previous night's drinking session - weaves his
way unsteadily to the local corner shop, completely oblivious to the zombie
apocalypse happening around him. It is a
great moment that shows how spot-on the characterisation is in this film, but
also where the satire becomes clear: Shaun is part of a generation so
self-absorbed and unmotivated that they're completely oblivious to what's going
on in the world beyond their lives.
 |
| That's right - this film really is a PROPER Zombie movie... |
Of course, you don't need to appreciate this satire to
enjoy the comedy of 'Shaun' - because it works as purely as a comedy in its own
right; and what an instant classic, immediately quotable one! Although Pegg and Nick Frost don't enjoy
being reminded of this fact... Well,
sadly for you chaps, lines such as 'you've got red on you!' and 'we're going to
the pub' have now taken on a life of their own beyond the film - tribute to the
impact this film has had since its release.
But what about the Romantic Comedy elements, after all it was marketed
as a 'Rom-Zom-Com'! Well, central to the
plot is Shaun's attempt's to get back with his girlfriend Liz - actually,
ex-girlfriend, as part of what makes Shaun take stock of his whole life is the
fact that she dumps him for, well, being a loser, really. And the film makes no bones that this is
somewhat justifiable! But the whole
zombie apocalypse setting is one way in which the film subverts the rom-com
genre; usually these are marked with some kind of last-minute dash for the
protagonist to win back their boy/girl after some over-blown misunderstanding. But here there's no misunderstanding, just
the prospect of imminent death at the bloody hands of the undead. Actually, as romantic gestures go, trying to
save the lives of the girl you love, her friends, and your family too, has got
to rate pretty highly! Clearly this was
enough for Liz, as at the end of the film we see that she and Shaun are back
together. Does it make sense? Yeah, in a way. Is it plausible? Mmmm, maybe not - but no more so than the
resolution of most romantic comedies.
Does it make for a satisfying ending to this film? Absolutely!
 |
| For the first time in his life, Shaun takes a pro-active lead... |
Another way this film subverts rom-coms is the inclusion
of a far greater love-story than that of Shaun & Liz - I'm talking about
the 'bromance' between best mates Shaun and Ed.
On the one hand Ed holds Shaun back, but on the other there is a real
mutual support between them, Ed is Shaun's rock when things get difficult. However, Shaun still keeps Ed in his circle
when he comes close to messing things up (including the group's chances of
survival at one point!). This
relationship is so well portrayed, probably because Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
have been friends for so long before they started their on-screen partnership
in Spaced. Heck, this film even recycles one of the jokes about their 'bromance' from Spaced, but it's such a great one
it feels perfectly at home in this film.
 |
| Still a more convincing story about love beyond death than a certain series about sparkly vampires... |
'Shaun of the Dead' came along just at the right time for
it to be embraced by audiences - there was a re-awakening of interest in the zombie
genre, and following their cult-hit Spaced, there was tremendous interest in
whatever Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg did next.
It probably worked in their favour that writers/stars of British
Sit-coms often failed to make a transition to the Big Screen - so any interest
in their film due to that turned out to create a positive buzz. But Shaun transcended all that because it is a
genre classic - it is a brilliant, endlessly quotable comedy, it is a proper
zombie movie (with barbed satirical jabs as well as the right level of gore),
and has some of the most relatable and enduring characters in any film of those
kind. It is a film that I will
certainly never tire of.
Now, who fancies a trip to the pub? I'll bring a cricket bat, just in case...
No comments:
Post a Comment