- "A romantic comedy. with zombies."
- ―Tagline
Shaun of the Dead is the rom zom com co-written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, released on April 9, 2004 in the UK and September 24, 2004 in the US. It was directed by Wright and stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, Nick Frost as Ed, Kate Ashfield as Liz, Lucy Davis as Diane and Dylan Moran as David.
Plot[]
Shaun is an appliance salesman whose life is going nowhere; he follows a mundane routine, and his girlfriend Liz is dissatisfied with their relationship, primarily because it revolves around going to "The Winchester", Shaun's favorite pub, every night. He also has issues with his hated stepfather Phillip , his increasingly unhappy flatmate Pete , and a dissatisfying job where his younger co-workers show him no respect. Following a broken promise to do something special for their anniversary, Liz dumps Shaun. He decides to drown his sorrows at the pub with Ed , his other flatmate and best friend. After a night of drinking, he has an epiphany and resolves to sort his life out.
Unfortunately, this revelation comes at the same time as an uprising of the undead within London, who begin to attack and devour the living. Shaun realises the gravity of the situation only after two zombies attack him in his back garden. As he finds out Pete has also become a zombie, Shaun and Ed plan to leave the house. Shaun and Ed proceed to rescue Liz, along with Shaun's mother Barbara and stepfather Phillip (who had been bitten earlier off screen) and go to the Winchester. Liz's friends, David and Dianne, also come along.
During their journey, Phillip is mortally wounded but manages to make his peace with Shaun before turning into a zombie, forcing the group to abandon him and their car and go the rest of the way on foot. The remaining group find the Winchester surrounded by zombies, and they approach the pub by impersonating zombie behaviour, but they are discovered after the zombies hear them talking and arguing. Shaun draws the undead away while the others barricade themselves inside. Shaun returns to the pub thinking that he "gave the zombies the slip," but the zombies followed him, and soon break in. Shaun is forced to shoot his mother, who was infected on the way to the Winchester; David is pulled through a smashed window, torn apart and eaten; Dianne charges outside in a futile attempt to save David, exposing the others to the zombies. Ed attempts to prepare a Molotov cocktail, but is bitten by the zombified Pete, who is shot in the head by Shaun. Escaping into the cellar, Ed decides to stay behind while Shaun and Liz escape through the barrel lift. Shaun and Liz, who have reconciled over the course of the day, prepare for one last battle against the zombie horde, but are saved by the British Army.
Six months after the zombie outbreak, society has returned to normal, and the remaining zombies have now become a part of everyday life, being used as cheap labour and game show participants. Shaun and Liz move in together, along with zombified Ed, who is kept in the garden shed, leashed and playing TimeSplitters 2.
In an interview with GQ magazine in 2018[1], Pegg admitted Shaun is an exaggerated version of himself, and it was easy to play the part. At the time he (Pegg) lived in a similar style to Shaun, and had a close relationship with co-star Nick Frost (Ed). Pegg goes on to explain how one of the films main plot lines (British pub culture), was influenced by his and Frost’s territorial habit of meeting and bonding in the same pub during the previous years.
Pegg has explained the concept for the film was derived from an episode of Spaced where Tim (Pegg’s Character) hallucinated fighting zombies in his house due to drugs. It is because of this episode (of Spaced), and the fun Pegg and director Edgar Wright had creating a zombie themed entry to the sitcom, that they decided to create a zombie feature length film.
Pegg has admitted Shaun’s DJ name is Shaun “Smiley-Riley”.
The film is the first in a trio of films featuring Pegg and Frost known as the “Cornetto Trilogy”. This is the strawberry input.
Cast[]
In order of appearance[]
- Shaun … Simon Pegg
- Liz … Kate Ashfield
- Ed … Nick Frost
- Dianne … Lucy Davis
- David … Dylan Moran
- Mary … Nicola Cunningham
- Clubber 1 … Kier Mills
- Clubber 2 … Matt Jaynes
- Football Kid … Gavin Ferguson
- Pete … Peter Serafinowicz
- Homeless Man … Horton Jupiter
- The Usher … Tim Baggaley
- Nelson … Arvind Doshi
- Noel … Rafe Spall
- Danny … Sonell Dadral
- Woman on Trisha … Samantha Day
- Trisha Goddard … Herself
- Grave Scientist … David Park
- Distraught Vox Pop … Finola Geraghty
- Philip … Bill Nighy
- Distressed Man … Robert Fitch
- Florist … Sharon Gavin
- Pigeon Man … Patch Connolly
- Yvonne … Jessica Stevenson
- Snakehips … Stuart Powell
- Spinster … Patricia Franklin
- John … Steve Emerson
- Bernie … Phyllis McMahon
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy … Himself
- Carol Barnes … Herself
- Rob Butler … Himself
- Jeremy Thompson … Himself
- Vernon Kay … Himself
- Hulking Zombie … Mark Donovan
- Grizzled Zombie … Christopher Harwood
- Barbara … Penelope Wilton
- Declan … Martin Freeman
- Mark … Reece Shearsmith
- Maggie … Tamsin Greig
- Yvonne's Mum … Julia Deakin
- Cousin Tom … Matt Lucas
- Pyjama Zombie … Nick Ewans
- Trisha Zombie … Alex Lutes
- Chris Martin … Himself
- Jonny Buckland … Himself
- Keith Chegwin … Himself
Uncredited[]
- Zombie shot by soldiers … Lucy Akhurst
- Livid Commuter … Peter Bateson
- Army Officer … Paul Bayfield
- Man in Street … Peter Baynham
- Football Commentator/'Zombies From Hell!' Presenter (voice) … Rob Brydon
- Wheelchair Zombie … Liz Cater
- Livid Commuter … Chris Clarke
- Zombie shot by soldiers … Joe Cornish
- News Reporter (voice) … Julia Davis
- Radio Presenter With 'Spaceship' Theory/Wildlife voiceover (voice) … Mark Gatiss
- "Fun-Dead" Zombie … Nick Goldsmith
- "Fun-Dead" Zombie … Garth Jennings
- Zombie … Rich Johnston
- Zombie behind the Winchester … Paul Kaye
- Zombie outside flat … Lauren Laverne
- Zombie … Jason McDonald
- Zombie … Michael O'Mahony
- News Reporter (voice) … Robert Popper
- Zombie … Paul Putner
- Zombie … Peter Rnic
- "Tyres" Zombie … Michael Smiley
- Zombie Monkey … Dave Smith
- Zombie shot by soldiers … David Spratt
- SWAT Team Officer … Greg Tanner
- Zombie … Ben Thompson
- Zombie … Kenneth Thompson Marchesi
- Livid Commuter … Ronaldo Vasconcellos
- News Reporter (voice) … David Walliams
- Zombie … Julianne Watling
- Rabid Monkeys Newsreader/Prat-falling Zombie/Italian Restaurant Voice … Edgar Wright