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eggwardsHans, king of the free movie sneak peek pass had tickets to Shaun of the Dead, the British comedy about life, and those who come back from the dead.
The movie stays pretty true to the zombie movie formula, even with the barely-heard warnings and backstory of something falling from space, crashing to earth, much like NASA's Genesis device (which already makes me think of KAAAAAAHHHNNN!).
What makes the story of course, is the people and the story about a 29 year old slacker and his friends and family is pretty good, it just happens to be placed in a movie that's part comedy, part horror. It's a strange mix that works, mostly. There were sometimes where the pacing was a little slow, and it missed a bit on the actual "scare" value. Certainly a stronger director could have created more suspense and dread.
Still, it is funny, and there's lots of cute moments to it, and the lead characters of Shaun and Ed are pretty likable, even if you want to kick their ass at times. Surprisingly, there's a depth in character that makes it a little more than the spoof you'd think it would be. One of the themes is the "dead end" job Shaun is in, and the sort of "dead" state his romantic relationship with Liz actually is. Zombies as both a metaphorical theme and silly, slow-moving movie villain.
The movie looks like it was done on the cheap, and it's very British, with pubs and soccer and even the protagonist's cricket bat. One character looked disturbingly like a grown Harry Potter. The humor's dry, and often dark.
It's definitely something that crosses the genres, and should do well with several audiences, but a little tighter editing and a stronger director could have made it stronger. Perhaps it's just pulled apart by too many hands.
The movie stays pretty true to the zombie movie formula, even with the barely-heard warnings and backstory of something falling from space, crashing to earth, much like NASA's Genesis device (which already makes me think of KAAAAAAHHHNNN!).
What makes the story of course, is the people and the story about a 29 year old slacker and his friends and family is pretty good, it just happens to be placed in a movie that's part comedy, part horror. It's a strange mix that works, mostly. There were sometimes where the pacing was a little slow, and it missed a bit on the actual "scare" value. Certainly a stronger director could have created more suspense and dread.
Still, it is funny, and there's lots of cute moments to it, and the lead characters of Shaun and Ed are pretty likable, even if you want to kick their ass at times. Surprisingly, there's a depth in character that makes it a little more than the spoof you'd think it would be. One of the themes is the "dead end" job Shaun is in, and the sort of "dead" state his romantic relationship with Liz actually is. Zombies as both a metaphorical theme and silly, slow-moving movie villain.
The movie looks like it was done on the cheap, and it's very British, with pubs and soccer and even the protagonist's cricket bat. One character looked disturbingly like a grown Harry Potter. The humor's dry, and often dark.
It's definitely something that crosses the genres, and should do well with several audiences, but a little tighter editing and a stronger director could have made it stronger. Perhaps it's just pulled apart by too many hands.
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 06:22 am (UTC)