700. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

Director: Edgar Wright

Running Time: 100 mins

Shaun Of The Dead is a British film about a man, stuck in a dead-end job, with his love life in tatters, who takes control of a dramatic turn of events when he realises that almost everyone in London, except for his friends, has become a flesh-eating zombie.

It’s almost impossible not to love this film! Of course, it’s one of the funniest that I’ve ever seen, however blended with this crew’s unique type of comedy, you can’t help laughing at every single scene. But it’s not only hilarious, the story is a lot of fun too, and is at some points genuinely tense and unpredictable.

And it’s the way that the story works so well in tandem with the comedy that really helps this film to stand out above so many other action-comedies. The whole thing is just a totally ridiculous situation, but it’s the perfect setting for a brilliant parody of Hollywood zombie films.

Throughout, you’ve got all of the harks back to classic zombie/action films, like what they did in the TV series Spaced with Star Wars and other classics, and that really helps to make it a lot more fun, however the similarities of the plot itself to the best zombie films mean that it is a genuinely exciting film to watch away from the jokes.

However, without that priceless comedy, I think that the best part of this film would be totally lost. It’s not only a parody, but a typically self-deprecating and sarcastic British take on the genre, which I always love to see, because it means that you not only get laughs from the individual jokes or the plot, but the atmosphere it creates makes it so easy to laugh in, making the whole film a huge pleasure to watch.

And while the main premise of this film is largely a parody, don’t think for a moment that it’s not original. It’s full of some of the most refreshingly original humour you’ll see for a long time, and it seems that the two follow-ups to this film, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End really thrive on the ingeniously unique brand of comedy that this film brings.

So, overall, this gets a 9.5, for being not only absolutely hilarious to laugh along to, but also exciting, unpredictable, and brilliantly original.