Lord in hell. I’ve been hanging on to this one looking for the urge to watch since January and now I know why. Right from the first second, this one is just packed to the gills with bad cheap gag after bad cheap gag. Male-female stereotypes even the most stereotypical of man or woman will find insultingly low. Only a toddler could possibly enjoy these 80 minutes, and the gratuitous bad language quick puts that idea to bed, which leaves only adults with the mind of a toddler. Avoid like the plague – and in fact, I urge you to even physically prevent complete strangers from going near it in the video store – make it your random act of kindness for the day. The songs almost make it worth something, I have to say – but it’s just so damn cheap from the start, there’s really nothing it could do to put things right.

Second viewing note: I don’t yet feel ready to rewrite the below review, I’ll wait till I get the DVD, but I did get to see this movie again recently and would add that, unlike Kill Bill: Vol. 2 which I watched for the second time on the same day as this second viewing, this wasn’t so much better the second time. As many jokes fall flat as those that split the sides. The way I’d put it is, this movie is much better when you’re thinking back on it with a friend, thinking of all the good parts, than while you’re watching when you have to put up with the uncomfortable silences when it’s not so great. But its moments do still hold it high above other movies I’ve seen so far this year (‘cept Vol. 2 which I will be re-reviewing when I’ve the time for the detailed analysis it deserves…)

As this movie is on release, it almost looks when you go to the cinema like you have this big taking sides thing going on – the “official”, pumped-up, American remake of the classic 1978 Romero movie, or this seemingly spoof-like British “comedy”? My advice first of all is, if you have a weak stomach, don’t think you’ll get off lighter if you go to the “comedy” option… plus don’t expect any kind of spoofery in the vain of Scary Movie and the likes. Shaun of the Dead is best described as a romantic comedy where there happen to be z- umm… you know, the undead, walking around. I hate the term romantic comedy because this is as comedic as “The Office” (lame comparison, I know, but I’ve been watching it recently and it springs to mind – Lucy Davis aka Dawn is also in the cast, plus Martin Freeman aka Tim makes a brief appearance), but it’s romantic, it’s very funny, so there you go. Then there’s the stuff that fans of Romero will love. Everything that we wanted from the Dawn of the Dead remake is ironically right here – flashes of the music, slow moving zombies that seem to have stepped right out of ‘78 apart from the make-up, and one visual effect in particular which is why I don’t recommend it to the weak stomached…

I don’t mean to put down the remake at all, read my review of that and you’ll see I didn’t entirely dislike it … I just prefer this by far – and usually, I’m not so wowed by British cinema (though hmm, watched Love Actually last night and my reaction – which I’ll post later – was actually quite disturbing for my I-hate-British-cinema-right-now stance). It’s finally a movie that’s willing to go its own way. A lot of people will come to this and they’ll like bits of it but be put off by the rest. The gore, for example, is supremely grotesque, more than I’d expected by far, worse than the Dawn remake, but I guess it gets a lower rating because it’s slightly more absurd and a little more fake. Add in serious moments (*SPOILER* mum turns into a zombie, so you can guess where that ends up) and some biting media digs that some will find out of place in what amounts to an alright popcorn movie, and though it cobbles together homage, rip-off and parody for its duration, not unlike Tarantino’s Kill Bill, it comes out, not unlike Tarantino’s Kill Bill, smelling of completely original roses.

The camerawork in particular surprised me for a Brit-flick. The closest I’ve seen to some of the great long steadicam shots in this movie was in the half-British Notting Hill as Hugh Grant walks through the market, but if I remember rightly, that shot was achieved digitally. A shot in Shaun where Shaun walks out of his house and across the street and into a newsagents’, a shot which is done a couple of times too, is an instant favourite shot of mine. It’s not just this though: overall the camera just feels much free-er here than the usual big-screen television British filmmakers usually come out with. Considering the director here came from television, this is pretty impressive indeed.

I gave this movie the time it needed before I watched it and I’m glad that I did. When it first was released, I saw it as being in the same vein as American Pie and all the teen movies, and basically an unnecessary mickey-take of Scream, which I loved. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it back then. It is astonishingly funny, and to be quite honest, pretty scary (to those who have seen it… Miss Man… too much imagery…) Anna Faris is hysterical, and clearly one of the few hot actresses around to subject themselves and what’s more throw herself into this kind of material. What other actress but Faris could fart in the bathtub, smell it, yet still maintain her dignity somehow? I can’t wait to see the sequels.

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