User:Randomwellwisher/Shaun of the Dead (old version)
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This is a revision of Shaun of the Dead dated 4 January 2007 that I have kept for my own personal usage in Film Studies AS Level. The original can be found here
| Shaun of the Dead | |
|---|---|
 Film poster for Shaun of the Dead |
|
| Directed by | Edgar Wright |
| Produced by | Nira Park |
| Written by | Simon Pegg Edgar Wright |
| Starring | Simon Pegg Kate Ashfield Nick Frost Lucy Davis Dylan Moran Bill Nighy Penelope Wilton |
| Music by | Daniel Mudford Pete Woodhead |
| Cinematography | David M. Dunlap |
| Editing by | Chris Dickens |
| Distributed by |  Universal Pictures Rogue Picturesnon-US United International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 9, 2004 September 24, 2004 |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,000,000 (est.) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Shaun of the Dead is a zombie-themed romantic comedy, or "rom zom com" as it dubs itself, released in 2004 (April 9 in the United Kingdom, September 24 in the United States). It was written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, directed by Edgar Wright, and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The plot focuses on Shaun (played by Pegg), an unmotivated young man who is attempting to get some kind of focus in his life, reconcile with his ex-girlfriend and settle his various issues with his mother and stepfather, whilst simultaneously having to cope with an apocalyptic uprising of zombies that is causing the fabric of society to collapse. It was a critical and commercial success in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The name is a joking reference to Dawn of the Dead.
The movie is notable for a kinetic directorial style used by Wright and, in particular, for the number of references to other movies, television shows and video games which are included. In this way, it is similar to (although not a direct continuation of) the British television sitcom Spaced, which both Pegg and Wright worked on (Pegg as co-creator, writer and star, Wright as director). In particular, the movie contains many homages to previous zombie and horror movies, most notably the Dead trilogy of George A. Romero, to whose films the movie is generally accepted as both a parody of and a loving homage.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Simon Pegg | Shaun |
| Kate Ashfield | Liz |
| Lucy Davis | Dianne |
| Nick Frost | Ed |
| Dylan Moran | David |
| Penelope Wilton | Barbara |
| Bill Nighy | Philip |
| Peter Serafinowicz | Pete |
| Jessica Stevenson | Yvonne |
[edit] Synopsis
Shaun (Simon Pegg) is an appliance salesman who is going nowhere in his life. His girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is dissatisfied with their relationship, primarily because it mainly involves going to "The Winchester," Shaun’s local pub; he is having issues with his beloved mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and his hated stepfather Phillip (Bill Nighy); he is trapped in a dissatisfying job where his younger co-workers show him no respect; and his life seems to revolve around playing video games with Ed (Nick Frost), his lazy and slobby life-long best friend, who is a constant bad influence on him. Following a broken promise to do something special for their anniversary, Liz dumps Shaun, and after drowning his sorrows at the Winchester with Ed, Shaun has an epiphany and resolves to sort his life out.
Unfortunately, this revelation about his life comes at the same time that London is swamped with an uprising of the undead, as the recently deceased begin to attack and devour the living. Once he gradually comes to realise the gravity of the situation (following a close shave when he was attacked by a zombie he merely assumed to be a drunk in his garden), Shaun decides to take action. Displaying surprising determination and leadership skills, he, along with Ed, rescues Liz and Barbara, along with Phillip, and Liz’s friends, David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis), who have been trapped in their respective homes, and decides to take them to safety and shelter; which, to Shaun, means the Winchester.
Following a dangerous journey (during which Phillip, who has been badly injured, dies and returns as a zombie), the group manage to elude the zombies surrounding the Winchester and, once Shaun has led the zombies away, barricade themselves inside. Shaun returns to the pub, claiming that he gave the zombies the slip, but they soon return, and eventually break their way into to the pub. Many of the group (including Barbara, wounded by a zombie during the earlier journey, David, torn apart by zombies when he decides to leave the Winchester, and Ed) are killed (Dianne is assumed dead); but Shaun and Liz, who have reconciled over the course of the day, survive, and are saved by the British Army. Six months after the zombies arrived, society has returned to ‘normal’, and Shaun and Liz are living together — along with Ed, now a zombie, who lives in the garden shed, where Shaun joins him in playing video games. Dianne also survives, having climbed a tree and eaten David's leg, though this is only seen during a bonus feature on the DVD.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Pre-Credits — The Winchester
The movie opens with Shaun (Simon Pegg), sitting in the Winchester, his local pub, opposite his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), who is explaining her dissatisfaction with their current lifestyle — mainly because their social life seems to consist entirely of going to the Winchester. To make matters worse, Shaun insists on bringing along his lazy, shabby (and occasionally Cannabis dealing) best friend and flatmate Ed (Nick Frost), which only prompts Liz to bring out her friends, the condescending and insufferable David (Dylan Moran), who nurses a painfully obvious infatuation with Liz, and his girlfriend, the bubbly-yet-ditzy Diana (Lucy Davis). Shaun resolves to change, and promises to book reservations for a romantic dinner at a local fish restaurant in order to belatedly celebrate their recent anniversary.
[edit] The Day Before Z-Day / The Break-Up
The next day, Shaun reluctantly prepares for another day at work, whilst Ed makes himself comfy on the sofa playing TimeSplitters 2 on the PlayStation 2 and their other, much more successful flatmate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) complains about Ed’s continued presence (especially since Ed contributes nothing to the house and refuses to tidy up after himself). Ed, of course, pays no attention to Pete, and Shaun leaves for work, missing a message from Liz about their plans for that night. It is seemingly a normal day at work for Shaun, with the younger employees at the electronics store he works at giving him plenty of attitude and his hated stepfather Phillip (Bill Nighy) dropping in to give him an equal amount of grief about his visit to his mother’s tomorrow, and his tedious and uneventful life. But there is something ominous in the air — emergency and army vehicles race through the streets, people are behaving oddly and collapsing, sick and dying, seemingly at random, and the news is full of strange and grisly events.
Shaun, however, is easily distracted from these strange occurrences — and when a chance meeting with Yvonne (Jessica Stevenson), an old friend from college, reminds him that he’s forgotten about his dinner plans with Liz, he’s in no mood to consider anything else. Unfortunately, by the time he calls the restaurant all the tables are booked, and Liz is greatly unimpressed by his back-up suggestion to go to the Winchester. An attempt to woo her back with flowers (originally purchased for his mother for his visit) is unsuccessful, and Liz finally dumps Shaun (much to David’s delight). After drowning his sorrows at the Winchester with Ed, an ugly confrontation later that night with Pete (who angrily berates Shaun for wasting his time with Ed, and for not making anything of his life) convinces Shaun that his life needs a serious overhaul, and after writing himself a note reminding him to go to his mum's, win back Liz and 'sort his life out', Shaun collapses to sleep in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it is at the moment where he has a revelation about his life that London is overtaken with flesh-eating zombies.
[edit] Z-Day
Shaun wakes up in the same position, nursing a hangover. As he walks to the local shop to get himself a Diet Coke and Ed a Cornetto, he fails to notice the ominously empty streets of his neighbourhood, which practically overnight have been trashed and deserted, and fails to register that many of his neighbours are either dead, frantically fleeing, or have become zombies, staggering around the streets(he mistook a zombie's grunts as panhandling). Back home, Shaun only manages to catch brief clips of the news as he channel surfs (which ironically, combined with the other various shows, actually tells the story of the zombie takeover), only noticing something is wrong when Ed informs him that there is a girl in their garden — and even then, he just assumes that the girl lunging at him is just extremely drunk and horny until he accidentally pushes her onto a metal spike, impaling her… and she rises again, apparently unconcerned about or unhampered by the gaping hole in her torso. They turn to retreat into the house and find a second zombie staring at them.
Relatively safe inside the house, Shaun and Ed try and call for the local emergency services (police, fire department) in vain, as the lines are engaged. They then sit down to watch the news — but unfortunately, Ed has (again) left the door open, and they are startled by the unwelcome appearance of an armless zombie (“He’s got an arm off!!”). After a brief tossing of objects at the unwelcome intruder Ed smashes an ashtray over its head, instantly killing it. Upon hearing advice from the news on how to slay the zombies ("Removing the head or destroying the brain"), the two arm themselves and try to dispatch the zombies in their backyard — first with various kitchen utensils, then a selective application of LPs (including the "Blue Monday" single by New Order and the Batman soundtrack by Prince) from Shaun’s record collection, before finally meeting success with a cricket bat and a shovel from the "locked" shed.
[edit] Rescuing Barbara and Liz
Having now realised the magnitude of the situation, Shaun turns his attention to the rescue of both his mother, Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and Liz. Stealing the car of their flatmate Pete (whom Shaun unpleasantly discovers has become a zombie), they drive to Barbara’s house, intending to dispatch Phillip — who has also been bitten — and collect Liz, before driving over the Winchester, "have a cool pint, and wait for this to blow over". Unfortunately, Barbara — who is more than a little confused about how ‘bitey’ their attackers were — refuses to leave without Phillip, forcing Shaun to begin to confront his resentment for his stepfather with the dawning realization that he was not the easiest person to live with either. As Ed has destroyed Pete’s car in order to get a chance at driving Phillip’s Jaguar, the four are delayed — and Phillip is surprised and savagely attacked further by more zombies before they manage to get away in the Jag.
Liz’s rescue is no easier, as a) both Dianne and David are present and b) it appears they didn’t actually need rescuing until Shaun — who seems to have attracted a large zombie presence to their flat — arrived anyway. Nevertheless, Shaun manages to convince the three that they will be safe at the Winchester, and the group piles into the cramped Jaguar to reach the Winchester — which, incidentally, also allows Shaun to finally introduce his mother and his (now ex-) girlfriend. The drive to the Winchester is long and dangerous, thanks to Ed’s increasing recklessness, but Phillip, with his dying words, tells Shaun that he loved him, and only tried to act as a role model for Shaun to look up to. Shaun, tearful and too late, finally makes peace with his stepfather — only to have to deal with the resurrected zombie version moments later. Locking the re-animated Philip in the Jag, the group have to leave their "blunt objects" behind in the car, or risk letting Philip out.
Escaping the car, the group is forced to take the backstreets to the Winchester. Here, Shaun again bumps into Yvonne, who is leading a group who are eerily similar to Shaun’s but who are definitely more successful, before finally leading his team through the back gardens. After briefly being separated from Barbara, and rescuing her from a zombie, Shaun takes the opportunity to scan the coast. Unfortunately, the zombies seem to have had the same idea as Shaun, and the Winchester is surrounded by the undead.
[edit] Lock-in at the Winchester
As the group attempt to figure out how to get through the seemingly impenetrable zombie blockade, Dianne, an aspiring actress, uses her skills and comes into her own. After an impromptu acting class, the group impersonate the zombies and take a dangerous walk through the zombie horde — which, miraculously, pays no attention to the group. They manage to reach the front door. Unfortunately, it is locked, and neither the landlord or his wife appear to be answering the door. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ed decides that this is the optimum time to take a phone call on his mobile. Finally reaching the limit of his patience with Ed, Shaun knocks the phone away and angrily lambastes Ed for his selfishness, especially in light of the remarkable degree of tolerance Shaun has shown towards him, and resolves never to look foolish as a result of Ed’s actions ever again.
Unfortunately, Shaun's soul-searching has been conducted at the top of his voice and has thus attracted the attention of many incredibly hungry zombies. Their cover shattered, David smashes a window to let everyone in — but the zombies will merely follow after them, and so Shaun, daringly, acts as a human bait, running and taking the zombie hordes with him. Seventeen minutes pass as the group await Shaun, during which David makes an ill-advised leadership play, decrying Shaun’s plan as being little more than "sitting and eating peanuts in the dark." The attempted coup is thwarted by Shaun's casual arrival — having seemingly given the zombies the slip, he has entered through the back entrance, and his presence has a boosting effect on everyone's morale.
It soon transpires, however, that Shaun’s plan actually wasn’t anything more than sitting and eating peanuts in the dark, and when the power comes on, the group discover that the zombies merely returned to the pub after Shaun gave them the slip. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a surprise attack from the (now deceased) pub landlord, John, the jukebox’s decision to randomly start playing Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ at full volume and David's inability to work the fusebox ensures that the Winchester has every zombie’s full attention. And the zombies “definitely want to come in”. Attacking the landlord with pool cues proves to be a futile gesture until Ed locates a rifle (which gives the Winchester its name) and throws it to Shaun, who uses it to force the landlord's head into the jukebox, taking care of both. When questioned by Ed as to why he didn't just shoot the landlord with it, Shaun wearily begins to explain once again to Ed that it isn't a real gun... until he accidentally fires it.
[edit] The Zombies Break In
The discovery of the rifle means that the gang now have a more powerful weapon to use in their defense; however, it's also one that none of them have any skill or experience in using (although Ed has shot his sister in the leg with an air rifle). As the zombies try to break in, Shaun, Ed, Dianne and David share the responsibilities of firing and aiming the weapon to defend the pub, whilst Liz takes Barbara to safety... only to discover the hideous wound she has been concealing. It transpires that she was bitten in her earlier attack in the back garden of the house near the pub and does not have long to live. As Shaun tearfully begs his mother not to die, she slips away... and David, picking up the rifle, decides to finish her permanently.
A tense, Reservoir Dogs-esque Mexican stand-off with broken bottles follows, with the hysterical Shaun accusing David of maliciously trying to kill his mum out of spite. David is forced to confront his own (long-denied) feelings for Liz, but the confrontation is broken as Barbara returns to life, looking at her son in confusion. Shaun points the gun at her head: but she only hisses viciously when David shouts to shoot — at which point Shaun shoots her. Then, following an ill-timed, callous and smug response from David ("Well, I think we can all agree you did the right thing."), Shaun punches David in the face, knocking him down next to the gun. David grabs the gun and tries to shoot Shaun - fortunately, the gun turns out to be empty, and rather than face the recriminations of the others David decides to flee. He is stopped only by Dianne, who to his surprise refuses to accompany him and angrily demands that he face up the truth about his feelings for Liz and apologise to Shaun for his cruel behaviour. Broken, David begins to apologise to Shaun for his actions... but before he can, the window behind him breaks, and he is pulled, screaming, into the zombie horde. As the others desperately try to pull him back, he is viciously (and graphically) torn apart and eaten.
Hysterical, Dianne, brandishing one of David's legs (which are the only parts of him anyone managed to save), opens the doors to try and rescue him, allowing the zombies to swarm into the bar. She disappears into the crowd of zombies and is presumably killed (although an extra scene on the DVD reveals that she in fact survived by climbing up a tree), leaving the three remaining survivors to try and stem the tide. During their struggles, Ed is viciously bitten by the zombie Pete (whom Shaun, enraged, shoots and kills, whilst screaming "I said leave him alone!"). They manage to make their way behind the bar and, setting the pub on fire with spirits, make their way to the cellar.
Apparently trapped underground, and with zombies breaking through the cellar door, Shaun breaks down, berating himself for his failures. Liz comforts him, and they reunite as a couple. Before they can use the last two bullets in the gun on themselves, Liz discovers the barrel hatch that leads to the streets, and Shaun and Liz prepare to leave. Ed decides to stay, reasoning that he would only hold Shaun back. Giving him the gun, Shaun bids his friend an emotional farewell before leaving, with his girlfriend, to the street. Surrounded by zombies and with little chance of survival, the two prepare to go down fighting. However, at this point the British Army arrives, having been rounding up survivors and dealing with the zombies with terminal force. Among the survivors with the army convoy is Yvonne (although the fate of the rest of her party is unknown), who joyfully reunites with Shaun and Liz ("I'm glad somebody made it."). Holding hands, Shaun and Liz are led away to the convoy.
[edit] Six Months Later
The movie cuts to six months later. British society has returned to relative normality, with the zombie menace completely under control. Now living together, Shaun and Liz watch TV about the events of "Z-Day" (and the continuing integration of zombies into society) in Shaun’s newly cleaned and spruced up flat. Together they agree to have a fun and varied day, a testament to how their relationship now has the spice Liz wanted. On the other hand, their day, while more varied in its activities than before, seems to mostly consist of the sort of laid-back activities that Shaun enjoys, culminating in spending the end of their evening in the pub (The Winchester, which has been refurbished and re-opened as 'The Phoenix'), indicating that the couple have found a happy medium. Before they do, however, Shaun decides to go to the shed wherein sits his PlayStation 2 and Ed, now a chained up zombie. After reprimanding Ed for a half-hearted attempt to bite him, Shaun contentedly settles back to play video games with his best friend, with the satirical implication that their relationship is little changed due to the similarity between the alive Ed and the zombie version.
[edit] Background
The film was initially inspired by an episode of Spaced, written by Pegg (along with his writing partner and co-star Jessica Stevenson, who also appears in Shaun as Yvonne) and directed by Wright, in which the character of Tim (played by Pegg), under the influence of speed, the PlayStation video game Resident Evil 2, and twiglets, hallucinates that he's fighting off a zombie invasion. The two men enjoyed making the episode a great deal and, having discovered a mutual appreciation for the Dead trilogy of George A. Romero, decided to write and make their own zombie movie. Spaced would be a big influence on the making of Shaun, as it would be directed by Wright in a similar style, and would feature many of the same cast and crew in minor and major roles (as well as Pegg, Wright and Stevenson, Nick Frost — who played Mike in Spaced — would have a starring role in Shaun as Ed, and Peter Serafinowicz — Duane Benzie in Spaced — appeared in Shaun as Pete.).
The film is notable for the number of British comedians, comic actors, sitcom stars, and regular TV personalities present in its cast, most prominently from Spaced, Black Books and the original British version of The Office. As well as the castmembers previously mentioned as having appeared in Spaced, Shaun also stars Dylan Moran, well-known as Bernard Black in Black Books, and Lucy Davis, who played Dawn in The Office. In addition to this, cameo appearances are made by Martin Freeman (Tim in The Office), Tamsin Greig (Fran in Black Books, Caroline in Green Wing), Julia Deakin (Marsha in Spaced), Reece Shearsmith (a member of 'The League of Gentlemen') and Matt Lucas (a writer / co-star of Little Britain). In addition, the voices of Mark Gatiss ('The League of Gentlemen') and Julia Davis (Nighty Night) can be heard as radio news presenters, as can David Walliams ('Little Britain') who provides the voice of an unseen TV reporter. Numerous other comics and comic actors appear in extremely brief appearances as zombies, including Rob Brydon, Pamela Kempthorne (Morticia de'Ath in The Vampires of Bloody Island), Joe Cornish and Michael Smiley (Tyres in Spaced). The "6 months later" coda features Sky News presenter Jeremy Thompson reminiscing on his disbelief in reporting how to kill zombies, Keith Chegwin presenting an "It's a Knockout"-style gameshow for zombies, and talk-show host Trisha Goddard holding an "I Married a Zombie!" feature on her show.
The production was filmed entirely in London, primarily at Ealing Studios, and involved production companies Working Title Films and StudioCanal. An early working title was Tea Time of the Dead. Zombie extras were mainly fans of Spaced (who responded to a casting call organised through the Spaced fan website 'Spaced Out') or local residents who, curious at what was happening, asked if they could take part. In its opening weekend in the US, Shaun earned US$3.3M, taking 8th place at the box office despite a limited release to only 607 theatres (compared to the usual 2000-3000 for other top 10 entries). In the UK it took in £1.6M at 307 cinemas on its opening weekend and netted £6.4M by mid-May. The movie was a critical and commercial success, and George A. Romero, creator of the films that this movie largely references, was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's work that he asked them to appear in Land of the Dead, the fourth part of his "Dead" series, in cameo. Pegg and Wright insisted on being zombies rather than the slightly more noticeable roles that were originally offered (as revealed in a DVD interview).
In 2004, the magazine Total Film named Shaun of the Dead the 49th greatest British film of all time. In 2005, it was rated as the 3rd greatest comedy film of all time in a Channel 4 poll. [1] In 2006, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association announced that they would be producing Action Figures based on the film as part of their Cult Classics line that features fan favorite characters from various genre films.
Pegg and Wright also scripted a one-off tie-in comic strip for the British comic magazine 2000AD entitled "There's Something About Mary". Set the day before the zombie outbreak as depicted in the film, the strip follows and expands on the character of Mary, the first zombie whom Shaun and Ed encounter, and details how she became a zombie. It features expanded appearances from many of the minor or background characters who appear in the film. The strip was made available on the DVD release of Shaun.
[edit] Prominent devices
Shaun of the Dead is notable for its prominent use of intertextual popular culture references and homages to other movies, television shows and video games, and its frequent use of repetition and foreshadowing for effect.
[edit] References
As with Spaced, in keeping with Pegg and Wright's adoration of the horror genre and films within that genre, as well as popular culture in a wider sense, there are many in-jokes and references to other films, television programs and pop-culture artifacts. These take the form of character names, scenes, snippets of dialogue and background materials, and are frequently made in either an overt sense (such as David's death scene in Shaun, which reflects the similar death of Rhodes in Day of the Dead, and the use of the phrase "We're coming to get you, Barbara!") or in a more subtle fashion (such as 'Foree Electronics', Shaun's workplace, being a reference to Ken Foree, a star of Dawn of the Dead).
Most prominently, many references are made to George A. Romero's Dead movies (Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead, with Dawn in particular being referenced). In particular, the plot of Shaun relates directly to the plots of many of Romero's zombie movies - being that all involve several people trapped in a building with flesh-eating zombies attempting to break in to devour them, with a lack of direct explanation or numerous conflicting explanations given for the cause of the zombie plague. The title Shaun of the Dead is also both an obvious parody of and homage to the title Dawn of the Dead. Numerous lines, scenes and background details also directly refer to the Romero movies.
As well as Romero's work, numerous other horror movies (particularly zombie movies) are referenced. These include references to Ash, the main character of the The Evil Dead series, 28 Days Later... and the movies of horror directors Lucio Fulci and John Carpenter. More diversely, references to Blade, The Deer Hunter, Reservoir Dogs, the films of James Cameron and the Star Wars trilogy can be found. Several references to video games involving zombies, including TimeSplitters 2 and Zombies Ate My Neighbors, are also present.
Several references are made to the sitcom Spaced, which most of the cast and crew worked on, including references to 'fried gold' (a phrase frequently used behind the scenes by the cast and crew) and the repetition of the "He's not my boyfriend!...Thanks, babe" exchange between Pegg and Frost's characters. A zombie version of the character of Tyres from the series can also be seen when the group attempt to get into the Winchester, although only fleetingly in the final cut (a more clear view of the character is seen in the outtakes). Ada, the dog who acted as Colin in the series, was scheduled to make a cameo eating a dead body, but it was never filmed.
[edit] Foreshadowing and repetition
Foreshadowing and repetition are two devices commonly used in the movie; at several points, the script / actions of the characters at one point are repeated for dramatic or comedic effect. The repetitive nature of the scenes and dialogue in the film lend it towards repeat viewings; one can watch the movie several times and still not "catch" everything. The repetition is most probably used to highlight a theme within the movie of, in the face of a crisis, how little life actually changes.
A significant example of this occurring within the film is the repetition of Shaun's morning routine of going to a local shop and buying a can of Coke both before and after the zombies have arisen (with the notable observation that Shaun, on the second day, fails to notice that anything is amiss despite the rather distinct changes, such as a jogger who was jogging the day before the zombies have arisen is now running for his life, the busted car which is usually kept clean, etc). Certain lines of dialogue, such as Shaun and Yvonne's greetings ("How are you doing?" "Surviving."), Ed's swearing ("Cock it!") and flatulence jokes exclusively for Shaun ("I'm sorry, Shaun."), and comments on Shaun's increasingly stained shirt ("You've got red on you.") are also repeated throughout the movie. Several characters unknowingly describe events that later occur in the movie (including a scene where a child throws a football at Shaun, who replies with "You're dead", unknown reference to part later in the movie, where the same child, now a zombie, throws the football at Shaun, and another scene where Ed, planning a day's drinking following Shaun and Liz's break-up, unknowingly describes the various stages the characters will face against the zombies). Another occurs near the beginning, when Shaun is giving Ed advice on playing TimeSplitters 2 ("Top left", "reload", "I'm on it" and "Nice shot!") and this happens again when Shaun is shooting the zombies in the Winchester (Although this time, Ed is giving the commands). Another "foreshadowing" scene occurs when Shaun's flatmate Pete is yelling at Ed. In the heat of the moment he shouts "Why dont you go and live in the shed, you thick fuck?". Right at the end of the film, we see that this has actually happened, with a zombified Ed living in Shaun's shed. Also, according to the DVD sub-titles which has secret tid-bits about the movie, each character's name hints to their fate (although Dianne's contradicts the plot hole that claims she survived).
[edit] Trivia
- The film received only a 15 certificate in the UK despite the gore, violence, the use of the word fuck some 77 times in 99 minutes, one instance of the word cunt, and one of the word nigga.
- Scenes filmed outside of The Winchester were actually filmed outside of The Duke of Albany pub in Monson Road, just off the Old Kent Road in New Cross South East London. Once a regular for Millwall fans, it is now boarded up and is planned to be turned into flats.[citation needed]
- The song Ed and Shaun are singing when they leave the Winchester and the zombie "groans" a part of the chorus is "White Lines" by Melle Mel.
- In the UK, both this film and the remake of Dawn of the Dead were originally scheduled to be released the same week, but due to the similarity in the names of the two films, Universal opted to push back Shaun's release by two weeks.[citation needed]
- The video game TimeSplitters 2 is featured prominently several times in this film. In the third installment of TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, one of the characters (Clip Clamp) who is a zombie asks "Do I have red on me?" when the player selects him. [citation needed] This is a reference to a line in Shaun of the Dead.
- The extras who played the zombies were all paid £1 for every day's work on set [citation needed], although some were local residents (of Nelson Road, Crouch End, where Shaun's flat is) and Spaced fans who turned up and took part for nothing.
- Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, appears as a zombie, and also appears as a guest on T4 Popworld in the movie, apparently founder of a charity called "Zombaid".
- Early on in chapter three of the manga series "Highschool of the Dead", a man looking exactly like Shaun cameos as a petrol station clerk, cricket bat and all.
- When David reveals the Zombies outside the Winchester's back door, the zombie to the right is played by comedian Paul Kaye.
- George Romero was sufficiently impressed with the film that he offered Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright cameos in his subsequent film Land of the Dead, as captive zombies which people paid to be photographed with.
- Near the end of the film when Shaun is flipping through the channels one of the programs mentions something about rage infected monkeys, this is of course what created the zombies in 28 Days Later.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Shaun of the Dead website (UK release)
- Shaun of the Dead website (US release)
- Shaun of the Dead at the Internet Movie Database
- Shaun of the Dead at Rotten Tomatoes
- Shaun of the Dead at Box Office Mojo
- Shaun of the Dead at StillTwitching.com
- Movie Locations Guide
Official Romero directed films: Night of the Living Dead • Dawn of the Dead • Day of the Dead • Land of the Dead • Diary of the Dead
Zombi series: Zombi 2 • Zombi 3 • Zombi 4 (aka Oltre la Morte or After Death)
Remakes: Night of the Living Dead (1990) • Dawn of the Dead (2004) • Night of the Living Dead 3-D • Day of the Dead (2007)
Russo's Living Dead films: The Return of the Living Dead • Return of the Living Dead Part II • Return of the Living Dead 3 •
Children of the Living Dead • Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis • Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave
Notable spoofs/parodies: Night of the Living Bread • Shaun of the Dead
Other films: Day of the Dead 2: Contagium
