How Edgar Wright’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’ set the tempo for modern British cinema
From swingball to pub crawls, Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy is one of the most humorous and honest distillations of British culture put to film. It follows Nick Frost and Simon Pegg through zombie apocalypses, countryside cults, and perilous pints, each installment littered with references to horror classics and suburban life, but the first entry still remains the most iconic and the most influential.
In 2004, Wright unveiled Shaun of the Dead, a new take on the zombie genre marketed as a rom-com. Pegg stars as Shaun, who seems just as lifeless as the creatures that invade his home in Crouch End. As he drifts through a sales job and a break-up, he’s suddenly forced into action by an influx of the undead, guiding his friends to safety through bar fights and zombie bites.
The story of Shaun of the Dead was fairly simple. A directionless man, coasting through life, discovers the power of friendship and pub trips through the transformative experience of living through the apocalypse. With Wright’s direction, though, it would transcend that simplicity and earn cult classic status. Even now, 20 years on, it remains one of the most iconic entries into modern British cinema and an enduring influence on those that followed.
One of the most entertaining elements of Wright’s direction is his aptitude for blending genres, which has become more and more prominent in modern cinema. Shaun of the Dead contains all the classic horror clichés, from shower curtains to self-sacrifice, but it could never really be classified as such. It contains elements of romance, too, in Shaun’s relationship with Liz and in his bromance with Frost’s Ed, but it’s certainly not the rom-com the poster implies.
At its core, Shaun of the Dead is a comedy. Zombie fights and moments of emotion are afforded the action and drama they deserve, but they’re almost always infused with comedy. Since Shaun of the Dead, British comedy has proven a continued preoccupation with this kind of dark, genre-blending comedy, from Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank to Martin McDonagh’s more grisly In Bruges.
Amidst his genre-bending tendencies, Wright gets meta, too, a filmmaking style that is more and more prominent in modern cinema. The film’s referential nature isn’t limited to its horror predecessors. Shaun of the Dead is more than willing to poke fun at itself, at its zombie premise, and at British culture.
This genre non-conformity wouldn’t be quite so seamless without Wright’s distinctive filmmaking style, which favours crash zooms and quick editing. From the moment the needle drops on ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials and the Winchester’s landlord calls last orders, Wright’s directorial pace never wavers and, as a consequence, neither does the film’s entertainment value. His snappy style prioritises fun, something that even comes across in British teen films that followed.
Wright was wholly committed to British culture with Shaun of the Dead, casually dropping tea breaks into apocalypse plans. The film finds its charm and relatability by putting the apocalypse into an English suburb, immersing it in our pub culture and sarcastic humour. There’s a charm to its colour and culture, one that can even be found in modern British classics like Paddington.
Wright’s influence with Shaun of the Dead can be found further afield, too, from Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland to Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows. While the former follows a similar comedic take on the zombies genre, the latter extends it into the vampire realm. Infused with Waititi’s own distinctive New Zealand-influenced comedy, it’s quick and witty like a Wright picture, and contains all the same heart.
Shaun of the Dead shrouds impossibly well-written humour in fun-filled action, British suburbia, and its rom-zom-com genre. All of these elements combine to make it one of the most entertaining and endearing watches in modern British cinema. Since its release, many other films have found a similar charm through similar elements, but few have reached the cult classic levels of Wright.