Cube Critics discuss the horror comedy ‘Shaun of the Dead’ for its 20th anniversary

Cube Critics

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “Shaun of the Dead” at 20, one of the few horror comedies that still works as both a horror movie and a comedy.

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‘Shaun of the Dead’ — Jacob review

“Shaun of the Dead” is a romantic comedy set during a zombie apocalypse movie. Watching it now, 20 years later, as somebody who has watched other films by director Edgar Wright, it was crazy to see some of the things that I’ve always associated with Edgar Wright, kind of seeing their prototypes played out here.

His brand of comedy — like the fast pace of our hero going through a mundane day while the world is falling apart around them — was really fun to watch.

This movie, to me, is a veritable who’s who of British comedians and huge names within the British film industry.

Bill Nighy is in this; Martin Freeman literally has a throwaway walking-by scene. But from what I understand, this was not necessarily the case when it came out 20 years ago. These people have had careers that have gone on from there, but they were not necessarily household names at the time.

As spooky season starts — Halloween is right around the corner — I think this is a really enjoyable watch for people who want a dark comedy that has love in it and has this romantic comedy vibe all set around a zombie apocalypse.

— Jacob Aloi

Shaun of the Dead trailer

‘Shaun of the Dead’ — Max review

Star Simon Pegg, director Edgar Wright and costar Nick Frost were almost unknown when they made “Shaun of the Dead.” They had done a TV show together called “Spaced,” which I highly recommend; some of the other cast members also appeared in it.

It uses many of the same techniques, like the fast edits and this sense of the fantastic always being around the corner, which were applied to the film.

Again, if you haven't seen “Spaced,” highly recommended, but it was not well known in the United States. So this really was the breakthrough film for all these people; they've since gone on to have massive careers.

I think the common wisdom, which I agree with, is that this is an unusually successful horror comedy and that it works both as a horror movie and a comedy. The thing that really stands out for me, that makes it enjoyable on rewatch after rewatch, is how meticulously crafted it is.

There are a lot of in-jokes in the film, or subtle jokes that pay off not just later on in the film, but on later viewings, where you’re like, “"Oh my god, they were actually talking about this,” which you don’t catch on the first time. It’s really tightly crafted in that way.

— Max Sparber

Scene from Spaced