Simon Pegg plays Shaun, a man who's almost 30 but has no direction in his life. He's stuck in a dead-end job at an electronics shop, he's distant from his parents, and he doesn't spend enough time with his girlfriend Liz, played by Kate Ashfield. After being dumped, he vows to set things right. Unfortunately, this epiphany happens at the same time as a zombie apocalypse.
Despite this minor setback, Shaun realises that he can prove himself as a responsible man. Accompanied by his vulgar best friend Ed, played by Nick Frost, he aims to rescue his parents and girlfriend and provide them with a sanctuary from the zombies; his local, the Winchester.
Simon and Nick have a great dynamic as Shaun and Ed. Both are lazy and not the brightest, but Shaun is slightly more responsible while Ed is crude and unkempt, spending most of his time playing TimeSplitters 2 (I love that game!) but doing very little in the way of work. Black Books star Dylan Moran and The Office cast member Lucy Davis also appear as Liz's flatmates David and Dianne, while Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy play Barbara and Phillip, Shaun's mother and stepfather.
The film has a very interesting mix of tones. Taglined as 'A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies', it has plenty of jokes, but the zombies are still wanting to eat your brains and there's plenty of gore. The film even depicts everyday life as zombie-like in the opening, possibly providing a social commentary. The third act especially accentuates the horror element, with most of the laughs uncomfortable at best. It was masterfully done.
The really difficult part is finding which joke was my favourite, whether it involves the scene where they beat the zombie-fied landlord to the tune of 'Don't Stop Me Now', or the morning of the outbreak with a very hungover Shaun oblivious to the desolation around him until he pieces it together through idle channel-surfing. I'll probably say my favourite scene was when they run into Shaun's old friend Yvonne, played by Simon Pegg's former co-star and writer from Spaced, Jessica Hynes. She's leading her own band of survivors played by other sitcom stars.
If not that scene, then Shaun's post-breakup binge with Ed, who's suggested plan of continued drinking for the next day sums up the events of the film. It's one of the many foreshadowing techniques that appears in the whole trilogy.
That's about it. With the state of things this year I'm off to have a nice cold pint and wait for all this to blow over. Hopefully the police won't get involved this time.
At least, not until tomorrow.
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