Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
This picture’s opening in the UK today, and if you’re wondering why we’ve printed so much enthusiastic coverage of the film in the last week, it’s because we all took a look at it together, and the picture just blew us away. It’s sort of amazing how much fun it is. Even people who don’t normally write reviews for us found themselves motivated to write in. Check this out...
Hey Harry and Mori,
As you know I've never written a review for your website. At most, I've journeyed with my hetero life partner Quint on our many misadventures in geekdom taking a few photographs along the way. BUT... the Kraken has been released this one time to write about a movie that I had the privilege of experiencing last week SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
This could be a fairly short review because basically all I need to say is I FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE! But, I figure this will not be adequate for most people.
I had heard about the director's (Edgar Wright) UK produced television show SPACED from my friends that were nuts for the show, but had never seen an episode myself. So, I didn't know what to expect when I was told about this movie. I had seen the trailer and thought it looked promising and got a bit of geek wood when I heard the song from the original Romero Dawn of the Dead playing at the tail end of the clip. I still didn't know what to expect though. I was a fan of UK humor (Red Dwarf and such) when I was a kid watching PBS, but had not had much exposure to modern television from across the pond in quite sometime.
Last Thursday before the screening I got to meet the director Edgar for the first time and got to hang out a little with him and the gang before the film. He's a funny guy and a true geek, so I knew this was a good sign. He spoke with the words of a man that was in LOVE with geek horror flicks and directors. We spoke of the greatness of Landis using counter score with the music in American Werewolf In London. Quint and Edgar debated over Argento and Fulci and we all geeked over great 80's horror fare like The Stuff and Terrorvision. In short, I knew this guy was about to take me to a place I've been longing for since the 80's (and no, I don't mean to the make out spot on Mount Hump). He was going to bring back the charismatic characters, humor, gore and heart to a genre that has been sorely missed for over a decade.
Edgar popped in the soundtrack to the film as we drove to the Alamo for the screening. Even without seeing the movie I was already digging the selections. Hell, any soundtrack that has Goblin, old video game Zombie music, and Dawn of the Dead (78) music remixed on it has to be great!
Well, we got to the Alamo and the movie started! HOLY SHIT! I was in heaven during every second of this movie. Every character, every plot point, every special effect was perfect. This movie was shot beautifully which wasn't a surprise to Moriarty because he told me afterward that the TV show SPACED was shot very cinematically. The first big special effect shot from a zombie got cheers from the crowd (think Kill Bill anime head-wound style) and we knew that this movie wasn't going to be pulling any punches in the gore department. But before all that, Edgar and Simon Pegg (writer/lead actor) did a great job making us want to hang out with the characters. These guys are geeks, but not the stuck up geeks portrayed in so many movies now. These are the geeks with heart, the geeks that bond over what they love with other geeks in a family type way. They watch Star Wars and reminisce about the film like a family would over old home videos. You don't see a Zombie in this movie for the first 30 minutes and you don't care! You're loving the characters too much... but when the zombies do start to appear in very subtle ways,... it gives you the "OOOOOooooooo" vibe and you're ready for the shit to start, but you're also afraid for your main characters by this point.
Now, when the Zombie carnage ramps up, it's great. But not in the fast action, blow 'em away kinda cool. But in the Dawn of the Dead (78), Night of the Creeps, Resident Evil 2 (video game) kinda way. Slow moving, but scary because of their numbers... the "always afraid of the bite coming from behind any corner" way. You don't want to see your guys get bitten, and that is where the fear comes from.
But in between encounters with zombies, there is laughter, there are tears (MAJOR tears) and there is romance. All of it perfectly balanced and at no time is there an "eye roller" in this film. I think the best part of this film is the "buddy picture" aspect to it. This would be the zombie movie that Chris Farley and David Spade would have made in the States if Chris were still with us, but instead we have the equal if not better geek substitute of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (as ED). The minute you hear "player two has entered the game" you're going to buy this friendship hook, line and sinker. This movie, I think, is ultimately about these guys. What would be the first thing you would do if there was an outbreak of zombies??? You would get your closest friends and loved ones under one roof wouldn't you? Well, this is what Shaun does... but unfortunately for Shaun they keep slipping though his fingers one by one by one. Each loss is heart wrenching because THESE PEOPLE ARE NOW YOUR FRIENDS TOO! You see these guys fighting to keep each other alive and it's heartwarming beyond anything you've seen in a movie since David and Meatloaf.
There is not one shallowly written character in this movie and I think that is an act of pure genius.
Even the zombies are well written! I went to see Dawn of the Dead 2004 with a friend of mine that said it best when he mentioned how none of the zombies in that film were individuals. None of them had any character at all to them. But much like the Romero original, Shaun of the Dead has all sorts of great undead folk. You have twin zombies, singing zombies, soccer kid zombies, and a convenience store zombie right down to him holding out his hand for his 15 pence!
After the film my friends and I, and even my wife who hardly ever remembers a line from a film (even right after seeing the movie) were quoting the shit out of it. Every scene in this flick is a instant classic. The subtleties are what kill me. Shaun slipping in the convenience store, and the zombie "make out" scene, and the scene where the actress tries to give zombie acting lessons to the group of survivors was a crack up... "observe the face, see the sadness, it's like a drunk who's lost a pet". Not since Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness has there been this much geek quote fodder! "Sneaky Monkey (a favorite of my wife's), We're going to the Winchester, Don't say the Zed word" on and on it goes (much like this review) and those are not even the best ones (don't want to ruin it for you).
The music in this film, my God, was excellent! Edgar said a reviewer in the U.K. said this movie has the best use of a Queen song since Flash Gordon, and whoever that guy was is fucking brilliant because he is dead on right! Edgar left us a copy of the soundtrack which my wife and I have been listening to non-stop since last week. Every song is enjoyable and a few of them are down right fan-fucking-tastic. The songs, interlaced with quotes from the film, really make you want to see the movie again and again just because you want to experience how they were used so perfectly. This is very much an interactive score!
I can't say enough about this movie so I better stop now or I will be here all day writing a love letter to this film and the people that made it. All I can say is that it is very difficult for me to call a movie perfect. I love movies, I love most movies, but even the movies that I go ape shit for, I can always find those one or two nitpicks that I didn't care for. I don't think I've seen a "perfect" movie since I was very young. But I have to give this movie the gold, it's PERFECT. At least for me, folks. My favorite horror film of all time is American Werewolf in London, but now it has to share that title equally with Shaun of the Dead.
Also, for you Zombie killing fans, check out the Shaun of the Dead website for a sweet online Zombie carnage game!
From your friendly neighborhood sea monster,
-Kraken
Now, here is a review from my lovely wife, Princess Andromeda...
Hey Guys,
I don't see reviews from women very often, so maybe this will be a way all the geeks out there can get their girls to go to the movie with them. I've never written one before, so I'm trying to be very careful about spoilers. I hope you like it....
"Shaun of the Dead" is my favorite movie of the year so far. So you know where I'm coming from, I am a self-proclaimed fledgling geek. I love all types of movies, but horror will always have a special place in my heart. I was exposed to this genre very late in life when I met my husband Kraken and I cannot thank him enough for opening my eyes to this wonderful world.
I saw "Shaun" the other day having not seen any "Spaced" episodes (I have remedied that since then). I was shocked. I really enjoyed the original "Dawn of the Dead" and was disappointed in the recent remake (not as a zombie movie, but as a remake of a movie I really liked before). This movie totally made up for the bad movies I've been seeing lately. The comedic timing was perfect - I rarely laugh above a chuckle when I see movies, but I was gut-laughing with this. The characters and their relationships were believable and I genuinely cared about these people. Even if I didn't necessarily like them, I cared enough about them as a fellow human being for them not to be eaten alive because we spent enough time with them to see them as real people. I can honestly say I cried once and got teary eyed a few times during the movie because these relationships felt real to me. The scares made me jump. The FX were great. The soundtrack is phenomenal. I really can't say enough good things about this movie. Simon Pegg is absolutely amazing and don't even get me started on the lovable Nick Frost. And they're surrounded by an incredible supporting cast. I'm one of those people that can't remember quotes from a movie just hours after seeing them - they just don't stick with me. I've now been quoting this movie non-stop for about a week now. I enjoyed it that much. For those of you in the UK - enjoy the hell out of this movie (and enjoy the fact that we yanks are pulling our hair out in anticipation of this being released) - you have a great team there. Now - GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!
Yours truly,
The sea monster luv'in Princess Andromeda!
And another...
Hello Harry, long time reader first time reviewer. It may be too late but I wanted to share my thoughts on this great film.
I haven't laughed out loud at a film in a while. Okay that's a lie I laughed out loud once at the Crotch Rot line in Jersey Girl at the SXSW screening but that was one time, other laughs were more subdued ha ha's.
After getting a call from a friend of mine who was invited by Harry I was a little skeptical as he tends to hype things up just a bit more than he should. He also said that this probably won't be released in America and it may be my only chance to see it. I wasn't sure of the validity of that statement so I sat down and watched the trailer and then joined the crew and we made our way to the Alamo Lake Creek.
Now I'm not a big horror film geek and I thought this may come across with cheesy make-up, bad acting, and simply be a weak Dawn of the Dead parody. I was WRONG. Before the film the Director Edgar Wright said that the film is a love letter to George Romero. He was RIGHT. This film has so much energy and had me laughing constantly. It was shot extremely well with nice long steadicam shots that take you through his moment in time at the start of his day and then again later when things are starting to go to hell. Very well done. The acting is stellar and the deadpan delivery of Shaun's loser friend about an answering machine message is hilarious.
It's great to watch Shaun's character notice that something is amiss and can't quite figure out what's going on. Everyone but Shaun is either completely ignorant to the pending zombie crises or they have already been bitten. This is isn't the case with Shaun, he's completely wrapped up in girl trouble and problems at home and red ink on his shirt that it takes a back seat to the attack until the utmost breaking point.
On a final note Edgar has discovered the British version of John Cusak. If you see the film you will know what I mean. Again I am not a huge zombie/horror geek but I can say that this a damn good film and everyone should go see it. It's not just a film for geeks. If you want to laugh and be taken for a ride then GO SEE THIS FILM if you have the chance. It's REALLY GOOD I promise. Oh and the soundtrack kicks much ass.
That's it from me.
-Jimmy Jam
All of you in the UK who get a chance to check it out this weekend, use this Talk Back to let us know what you think. I’ll bet you anything we’re about to see the birth of a cult. Long live Shaun and Ed!!
"Moriarty" out.
