It has been some time since someone made a decent movie based on completely seperate genres. Sci-Fi/Fantasy doesn’t count (Because they’re very similar anyway, so they aren’t really THAT separate), nor does the combination of cops and comedy (blame the Police Academy series for not only making it great, but also by running it into the ground that most films that attempt the genre combination die due to direct comparison), but other legitimate attempts at genre cross-breeding fails to satisfy many people’s movie appetites.
Shaun of the Dead is a Rom-Com-Zom, or as they would say, “a Romantic Comedy, with Zombies”, and is a genre hopper that actually works. Simon Pegg (Spaced) and a ragtag cast of people that have a high chance of dying by the end of the film, suffer the inhumanity of the dead walking on the streets of London.
In the middle of all of this, Shaun (Pegg) tries to get back together with Liz (Kate Ashfield), save his Mum, and cart other connected people to the only place he and his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) can call safe. The Winchester (Pub).
The main problem genre hopping films get caught up in, is how the two different types of film get put together. Some head down the route of using what could be a damn fine film of one genre if only the other got removed. Shaun OTD doesn’t. The Rom-Com bit on it’s own would probably be a bit lacklustre, but the Zom bit definately improves the film, and the frequency of zombie-ness means that the average Rom-Com hating guy (me) will gladly sit through that in order to get back to slow people shuffling and moaning for brains.
If you don’t mind sitting through the start of the film (which can take a short while to warm up), and you are not averse to strong language, then I do recommend you buy or rent Shaun of the Dead, if only for the fine performance from Nick Frost as the slacking best friend.
The Shaun of the Dead team’s next project? Hot Fuzz, which is a comedy about cops…
“Shaun of the Dead” (Universal Studios)
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