Shaun of the Dead

The was a request from Jessica to see me do a Shaun of the Dead theme. This will be 4 of 4.

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 play on the title 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 which the movie is generally accepted as both a parody of and a loving homage.

Spoiler Warning (for those who don't know how to stop reading).

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.

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 celebrate their upcoming anniversary.

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 and telling dirty jokes at the Winchester with Ed (again with ominous overtones as someone bangs on the door and people in the street behave oddly after Shaun and Ed leave the pub), there is an ugly confrontation later that night. Pete angrily berates Shaun for wasting his time with Ed, and for not making anything of his life (Pete is wearing a bandage on his hand where a "mugger" bit him earlier that day) which convinces Shaun that his life needs a serious overhaul. 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.

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 or have become zombies, staggering around the streets. 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 clogged ("engaged", as Shaun puts it, for Ed to easily pun from). 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.

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.


David (Dylan Moran), Liz (Kate Ashfield), Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Dianne (Lucy Davis) escape their surrounded flat.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 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 weapons 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.

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.


Diane, Liz, David, Shaun, Barbra, and Ed attempt to pose as zombies.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. Twenty 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 it's 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.

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. 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, callously 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 jams, 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 and staying up there for 3-4 days, surviving on eating David's leg), 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 "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.

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 (presumably the Winchester if it still exists), 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. They play Timesplitters 2 . After snapping at 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.