Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Episode 70, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw Horror Movie Review Podcast

Todd:  Hello, and welcome to another episode of 2 Guys and a Chainsaw. I’m Todd.

Craig: And I’m Craig.

Todd: Today’s feature comes to you thanks to our good buddy Dan Tucker, a loyal listener and friend of mine who suggested Shaun of the Dead from 2004. You know, Craig, interestingly enough, I this is the first time I’ve seen this movie. Can you believe it? 

Craig:  No. I can’t believe that. I I can’t believe it at all. 

Todd:  It’s so weird. This came out about the time we were in Japan. We were in Japan. We left in 2004 and came back. So it, had just left the theaters, I think, and in all the turmoil of moving back into the States and all that, I saw it, I saw, you know, I knew of it, really did wanna see it, never got a chance to see it. And I don’t know, man, just over all these years, it’s always seemed like a great idea, but I never got around to watching it until now. And, man, I’m sure glad I did. 

Craig:  Todd. 

Todd:  How about you? What’s your history with this movie? 

Craig:  Well, you know, I don’t know. I mean, I was really surprised that you hadn’t seen it just because it’s been out for so long, and it’s really, you know, it it it’s popular. You know? People know this movie. People like this movie. I didn’t see it in the theater, I don’t think. I think I eventually rented it at some point. And, I may have been a little bit reluctant just because I don’t know if it was exactly right around this time, but it seems like sometime in the, late nineties, 2000, we were really kinda getting inundated with lots of zombie stuff. And, the zombie genre just in general isn’t really my favorite of the horror subgenres.   I mean, I like some of the zombie films, but it’s not something that I necessarily jump at, every opportunity. But I did wanna check this out and like you, I was very glad I did. You know, this is, you know, in many ways, it’s it’s pretty typical, for a zombie movie, but it’s also pretty fresh because it it injects this sense of humor that, really works and is really funny, and and they maintain it, throughout the movie as far as I’m concerned. I think overall, it’s it’s it’s really successful as a horror comedy. 

Todd:  Yeah. Honestly, I think, of all the horror comedies I’ve seen, this might be one of the funniest, if not the funniest. It’s just really sharp. It’s clever. It’s well written, and what I really love about it is how a lot of the things that are set up earlier in the movie come back later. Everything from his relationship with his girlfriend, the things that they say to each other, the things that he promises her that he falls short on, he’s later able to redeem himself on later on in the film in a funny way. You know, it’s just it’s just something cool to watch out for, it’s something cool that happens, and I really like that aspect of this movie. 

Craig:  Yeah. I’m kinda surprised that you picked up on a lot of that because frankly, as I was going through and doing research for this, I read a lot of stuff that I really hadn’t picked up on. I mean, it is well written. It’s well constructed. The director of the movie, Edgar Wright, wrote the movie with the star of the movie, Simon Pegg. And if I am thinking correctly, the 2 of them had worked together on a really popular, British television comedy series. So, you know, they knew each other. They worked together a lot.   In fact, the idea for this movie, sprung from a just a really short skit that they did, on their television program. And, they liked it so much that they thought that they really could develop it into a a full length feature film, and and they did. You know, British comedy can the I don’t know. You know, just every nation has different sensibilities, and sometimes British comedy, can be a little bit dry, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This movie, you know, there’s lots of laugh out loud stuff, and and some of it is kind of juvenile. I mean, we’ve got fart jokes and, you know, all kinds of body jokes and stuff like that. But, there’s also some, I don’t know if sophisticated is the right word, but just well planned out stuff. There there are little seeds planted throughout the beginning, that have payoffs, throughout the rest of the film.   And, that that takes some skill in writing. And and, you know, we see that sometimes in horror and sometimes in horror not so much, but, it works here, and and I think they did a great job. 

Todd:  Well, it’s neat how the filmmaker takes the idea of the every man, rising up to the occasion that we get a lot of times in zombie movies, and and really, really lays it out for us. First, we have Sean, who we’re introduced to, and, Sean seems to be he’s not a bad guy. He’s just doesn’t isn’t really going anywhere in his life, and that caused some consternation with his girlfriend. He’s got this roommate named Ed who clearly, they’re really really good friends. You can really relate to this. I think everybody else everybody’s got a really good friend that maybe not everyone in their life, thinks is the best for them or is is maybe dragging them down, at least in this case. I think his girlfriend suggests that maybe Ed is just dead weight, and, if he would kind of sever his ties or whatever with him, then Sean himself and Todd taking care of him. Ed Ed’s kinda like the guy he’s gotta take care of.   He’s the dude who’s hanging around, he’s the flatmate, in that apartment, which he shares with a guy named Pete. Pete obviously is a professional and has like a real quote unquote real job. Sean himself, is working as a salesperson at an electronics store, and Ed just seems like he sits around all day and plays video games and keeps the place messy and eats. So they really set up Sean as this guy who’s kinda caught between a rock and a hard place. His girlfriend breaks up with him in the film anyway. And, it’s really interesting, I think, how the the movie starts out, like, you know that you’re going to be watching a zombie movie. So it plays with you a little bit, and in as to when the zombies are actually coming, even from one of the opening scenes where Sean first steps out, he steps out and he kind of lumbers out, and we just see his feet move forward. And we’re hearing these moaning sounds of a zombie, but when the camera pans up, it’s just him yawning in the morning.   Right? 

Craig:  Like right. 

Todd:  Because because that’s how we all wake up out of bed kinda like zombies. At least I do. 

Craig:  Right. Right. No. I liked that too, and I liked how, it it did it does kinda play with you in the beginning. Even in the credits scene, it just kinda rolls through this small town, and you see people at their jobs, and you see them walking to work. And I think that what they’re kind of playing up there is just kind of the mundanity of everyday life, especially, you know, professional life. You know, all of us grown ups who have to get up every morning and drag ourselves to work like we are zombies, so that, when the actual zombie stuff starts to happen, Sean doesn’t even notice. Like it’s not so out of the ordinary that, that it even draws his attention, and I think that’s really clever.   You know, watching it this time, I was trying to pay more attention. You know, I always try to watch the critical eye when we’re watching these movies. And, as he’s moving through his first day, most of it is very normal and average and ordinary. But as the day goes on, we also kind of see some odd things going on. You know, there seems to be, you know, there are accidents on the road that seem a little bit, strange. There are some people who are acting strangely. I remember at one point, he’s at his job, I think, and outside the window well, actually from his job, I think that he sees military or we see military trucks driving by. And then he goes to the flower shop because he’s been reminded by his stepdad Philip that he hasn’t visited his mom in a long time.   So he’s going to pick up some flowers for her. And while he’s waiting for the flowers, he sees, you like, a a homeless guy outside, in the park across the street. And, this guy is lumbering along strangely and he’s kinda swiping at these pigeons on the ground. And eventually, he gets a hold of 1 and picks it up and starts to eat it, but just then a bus goes by, and when the bus passes by, then the homeless guy is no longer there. And there are lots of little things like that. You know, we’ll just see somebody in the background or we’ll see an odd silhouette in a window that knowing that we’re going into a zombie movie, we, the viewer, can, see that obviously this zombie, whatever it is, this outbreak, is picking up slowly, but it’s also not unbelievable that Sean and any of the other characters might not take notice, or or that they certainly at least wouldn’t jump to the quick conclusion, oh my gosh, it’s a zombie outbreak, outbreak, even if some of these things were slightly odd. And I thought that was a really clever way. I’ve never really seen it done in that way.   Usually it’s just boom, smack, here it is. You know, zombie outbreak, zombie apocalypse, whatever, and we’re thrown right into the action. But this takes its time. It’s really about almost 15 or 20 minutes into the movie before we really get into the heavy zombie stuff. But I didn’t find it to drag at all. In fact, I really liked the pacing, and kind of the slow build up to it and, the characters really not figuring out what’s going on right away. 

Todd:  Oh, yeah. The pacing is fantastic. And while we’re getting all this character development and we’re learning about Simon, you’re right. We’re seeing all this stuff in the background, and that also kinda keeps us on edge. It adds a bit of urgency Todd the proceedings because we’re waiting for that moment. Right? We’re waiting for that Right. Smack dab. Here’s when the zombie’s gonna come in.   Oh, is this it? Is this the moment? And and then they they stretch it, like, to the absolute limit for us, which is part of the humor. One routine of his day. And you’re right, one of the things that I think they’re doing is is pointing fun at the fact that our days are pretty mindless, which keeps us, you know, doing the same thing, kind of like mindless zombies, but also completely unobservant to our surroundings. And I think it’s interesting how he he there’s this really long tracking shot where he crosses the street and he goes through the neighborhood, he walks across the street, there’s a guy, you know, washing his car, he he trips over a curb as he’s walking, kind of glances back at it, keeps walking down the sidewalk, past people on the right, past people on the left, people who are actually staring at him but he’s, like, not even noticing them. And you’re even wondering, are they zombies? But then you can tell, well, I guess they’re kind of not. But, again, they’re just staring slack jawed into space like we do. He walks into a little convenience store, grabs some some Todd or something out of the cooler, walks back to the front, pays the guy, and then leaves. And we get later on a repeat of that same shot except what what’s in the background.   It’s like everything’s kind of half decimated. There are crashed cars, the people who were there before aren’t there at all, there’s obviously been some turmoil with the man who had the garbage can, who now there’s garbage everywhere on the street, but he barely notices. In fact, he heart he doesn’t notice any of this. He even trips over the same curb he tripped over the first time and kinda glances back at it again like it’s nothing. You kinda get the sense that he just does this every single day. And then Yeah. And it gets even more and more funny in that very understated way when he walks into the shop and he opens up the cooler itself and we could see their bloody handprints on the cooler. He completely pays no attention.   And as he walks away, he kind of slips a little. 

Craig:  Right. Right. 

Todd:  Just to imply that there’s, like, blood on the floor that he’s slipping it, but it’s so brilliantly played. He ends up just leaving the money on the counter and walking out because there’s nobody at the front, but you could see some shifting in the distance. This is something I don’t know, man. This kind of humor is very British. It seems like British humor is 2 extremes. It’s either very dry and understated, or it goes ridiculously silly and juvenile like Monty Python. And most of this movie seems to be, in my mind, at least a lot of the funniest parts I laughed at were the dry and understated things, the repeated jokes, that would come back out at you and, the times when people are simply arguing, but lines will come up that you heard earlier in the movie, but in a new context that makes it extremely funny. And I and I just loved that about this movie, and without that setup at the beginning, you don’t get that payoff, in the end.   They’re just brilliant with the setup here, I think. 

Craig:  Yeah. Oh, I agree entirely. You know, and and just little kind of throwaway lines that I don’t I don’t know because this I’ve seen this many times at this point, so I don’t know if I picked up on him the first time around. But just, for example, Ed, who’s kind of the sloucher roommate, and Pete have a lot of friction between them because like you said, Pete’s the professional, Ed’s kind of the slacker, and, Sean’s kinda somewhere in the middle. But they kinda get into it over, you know, the cleanliness of the house and the fact that, Ed never locks the front door and stuff. And they kinda get into it and Sean, breaks them up and Pete goes off to work, but not before, we see that he has a bandage on his hand and they they say something about it and he says, yeah, I was mugged by some, crackheads or something on the way home from work, and one of them bit me. And then, you know, there’s this bickering between them. And when Pete goes off, Ed says, next time I see him, he’s dead.   And of course, the next time the next time we see Pete, he is gonna be dead. And, you know, out of context, that probably doesn’t sound all that funny. But just within the context, these little subtle things I think are hilarious. And yes, first of all, both of those tracking shots are pretty amazing from a technical perspective. I mean, they they don’t cut away. You know, it’s it’s really him walking, you know, like, down a city block and back to his apartment in both cases, and you’ve got lots of stuff going on in the background, the Todd day being very normal, the second day, clearly they’re, you know, these lumbering zombies, but he’s not affected by it. And when he gets back home, he sits down in front of the TV and he’s flipping through the channels, and he’s not paying any attention because he’s just flipping through at random, but the TV explains exactly what’s going on even though it’s different clips. 

Clip:  Well, there no one official is prepared to comment, religious groups are calling it judgment day. There’s High on the streets of London. As an increasing number of reports of serious attacks on People who are literally being eaten alive. A witness reports are sketchy. One unifying detail seems to be that the attackers in many instances appear to be dead excited to have with us here a sensational chart of 

Craig:  It’s just, you know, well written, clever stuff like that that I think this makes this stand out from some other horror movies in general, but horror comedies, in particular. A lot of times with horror comedies, it relies just completely on, silliness and and, you know, low brow humor. And like I said, there is that here. For example, there’s kind of a running gag where Ed will just say, I’m sorry, Sean, and Sean will say, what do you mean? Sorry about what? No, I’m really sorry, Sean. And then Sean will go, 

Clip:  oh man, that stinks. 

Craig:  And he’s just farted. I mean, it’s a fart joke. And he he says, you know, I’m gonna I’m gonna keep doing it until you quit laughing. And Sean always says, I’m not laughing. No. He totally is. And that, you know, that plays throughout, and it actually leads to kind of a sweet moment between the 2 of them in the climax, of the movie. But once we get that established shot, when when the 2 guys, Ed and Sean, are alone in their apartment, when things start to really kinda go crazy is, Ed tells Sean there’s there’s a a girl in the garden. 

Clip:  Oh my god. She’s so drunk. Yeah. I think she wants a cuddle. It’s what I’ll say is I’m just come out of a relationship. Do something. Wait Hey. 2 seconds.   Jeez. Look. I’m really flat and everything really quick. 

Craig:  And he runs in and you think he’s gonna come out with a weapon or something, but instead, he’s just got a disposable camera, and he takes a picture of the 2 of them rolling around on the floor. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that this was a girl that we had seen earlier just in one of those establishing shots as a clerk at the grocery store. And in fact, just about every single bit player that you see at any point in this movie, you will later see come back, as one of the zombies. It’s only when they get her up off of Sean and she starts coming back again, And Sean pushes her backwards, and she falls back on some sort of, like, pipe. I don’t know if it’s a drainage pipe or an exhaust pipe, or something in the back. And it totally impales her, which of course they’re horrified by, but then she picks herself up off the, post and starts coming at them. And that’s when they know that something’s going on, and that’s really where we start to get into, alright, this is happening. We don’t really know why, but this is the reality of what’s happening, and now they’ve gotta figure out what they’re gonna do. 

Todd:  Yeah. And what they decide to do is just go inside and get a crate full of stuff that they could throw at her from across the yard. It’s so silly and then they go and get his record collection at because they think, oh, Record’s gonna do it because now she gets joined by somebody else. They’re tossing records at these 2 zombies, and they’re flipping through the records arguing which ones are worthy of tossing the zombies and which ones they should really keep. 

Craig:  Right. 

Todd:  So there’s there’s there’s a lot of flat out silliness there. But then after this, they turn to each other and say, what do you think we should do? Have a sit down. And they go inside. They just plop back down on the couch. Right. Todd try to figure it out. And that’s just that’s just part of the humor of this is that this is really not far removed from our lives. Right? Like, this is how we would sometimes deal with about any problem, and this is how these guys are dealing with these problems.   It’s just exactly the same way, except they’re kinda lazy and they it’s not your typical zombie movie like you said where somebody’s running to get a weapon and come out and suddenly becoming badass. It’s these guys Right. Who are basically solving these problems the same way, shape, and form that they that they attempt that they go through life. And that is what makes this endearing, and it adds to the comedy, but, also, it it kind of adds to the realism, I suppose, of the movie, and you’d hope that we wouldn’t be as oblivious as these guys are. And maybe this movie came right at the time when it could at least be a little more credible. Now I feel like we’re so connected, you know, to social media. We’re on our phones all the time. Here in 2004, I think Facebook had just come around.   Social media and the fact that we’re texting each other all the time and kind of keeping abreast of everything, staring down at our phones was just becoming a thing, just becoming enough of a thing that they could make fun of it in this movie, but not so much that you’d think, oh, come on. Why why don’t these guys, you know, know what’s happening halfway across the world, 3 minutes after it happens? 

Craig:  Yeah. I was gonna say the exact same thing. Like, as silly as it is, it is almost more realistic than the types of movies where all of a sudden your protagonist has a machine gun and a, you know, a rocket launcher and they’re taking out hordes of zombies. First of all, these are slow walker zombies. You know, I I feel like anymore, that’s how they started out, you know, the the zombie genre. They started out as with Night of the Living Dead, Ramirez Night of the Living Dead. They started out as slow walkers, but they’ve evolved ever since, I think, 28 days later, we’ve seen a lot more of the fast moving, zombies. And in an interview, Simon Pegg was asked why they went to go with the slow moving zombies and he said, because death is not an energy drink.   And I kinda like the return to this this form because it allows them a lot of ways to play and and it’s easier for them to be amongst the zombies. I mean, these zombies, yeah, if they get a hold of you, they can tear you up, especially if they’re in large groups. But you can pretty much just walk in among them, as so long as you’re just a hair quicker than they are, you know. And I think that’s funny. And the way that they react, I imagine would be, yeah, I’d be freaking out more, but it would be kind of the way that I would react. What would I do? I’d go in my house and I’d lock the door, you know? And I, I’d try to figure out what was going on, and and, you know, I’d be thinking about my significant other and my mom, and and, you know, that’s exactly what they do. And, Sean comes up with this plan, for he taught he gets his mom on the phone, and she says that she’s okay, but weird things are going around. She and her husband had kind of been attacked, and they’re okay.   But Philip, the stepdad, had been bitten. And and so Sean, of course, knows that that’s gonna be a problem. So he has this plan, and and he plays it out in his head, and we get to see it play out on the screen where they’re gonna go get his mom. They’re gonna kill Philip. Then they’re gonna leave and they’re gonna go get his girlfriend or ex girlfriend at this point, Liz, and then they’re just gonna hole up in her apartment. 

Clip:  Why have we got a girl Lizzie’s? Because we do. She dumped you. I have to know if she’s alright. Why? Because I love her. Alright. Gay. I’m not standing there though. Why not? If we hole up, I wanna be somewhere familiar, I wanna know where the exits are, and I wanna be allowed to smoke.   Okay. Take Pete’s car, go around mom’s, go in, deal with Philip sorry, Philip. Grab mom, go to Liz’s, pick her up, bring her back here, have a cup of tea, and wait for all this to blow over. Perfect. No. No. No. No.   No. Wait. We can’t bring him back here. Why not? Well, it’s not totally safe, is it? Yeah. Good state of it. 

Craig:  And he says, okay, new plan. And I just love that it runs through this plan on screen every single time just with a different ending and moving a little bit faster each time. Finally, they decide they’re gonna pick up all those those people, and then, they’re gonna head to the Winchester, which is their local bar, the bar where they hang out every single night. In fact, that’s why Liz, eventually dumped Sean is because he wasn’t going anywhere, and that’s all he ever wanted to do, and wouldn’t do anything else with her. I also love that when, Philip or no. Excuse me. When Sean is talking to his mom 

Clip:  Listen, mom. Sit tight. Okay? You’re not safe there. We’re coming over.   I don’t want to cause a fuss.   We’re coming to get you, Barbara. 

Craig:  Which which is a a direct nod to the original Night of the Living Dead. And I I read, I thought it was really funny that, they gave Romero, George A Romero a private screening of this movie before they released it. And he really, really liked it. He liked it so much, in fact, that he invited both the writers, to appear in his next, sequel, Land of the Dead. But he didn’t even remember that that was one of the original lines from his original movie until somebody told him later, and I thought that was pretty hilarious. But there are tons of nods to other zombie things. When Liz tells Sean that she wants to do something else and, he eventually says he’s gonna take her out to some, fish restaurant, but he forgets to make the, reservation. So he’s flipping through the yellow pages and he finds Fulci’s Italian Restaurant, a great nod to, the the Fulci, Italian, zombie film.   And and I just, you know, I didn’t catch all of these those things going in. And in fact, they’re really subtle in some places. They’re blink and you miss them. But, you can tell that these guys really were fans of the genre and were knowledgeable on the genre, and, they make a lot of those types of references, and I appreciated that too. 

Todd:  Yeah. There’s even a point in which, of course, their roommate, Pete, who we know is is gone, and Sean runs upstairs and, he’s in the bathroom getting ready to go, and, I think, he notices that Pete is behind the shower. You know, everybody, all the zombies in this movie have these white eyes a little bit. Mhmm. 

Craig:  He’s he’s 

Todd:  kind of coming at him, and he’s still talking to him like he’s his roommate and basically says, alright, so we’re we’re gonna go to the Winchester now and you’re more than welcome to join us. And the way he says join us and the way that Pete is walking towards him with the wide eyes is very evocative of Evil Dead and and that Absolutely. Is just this this real you have to know the movie to be able to get this stuff, and you have to be in tune to it. As a horror fan, you appreciate this sort of thing. Right? 

Craig:  Yeah. Oh, absolutely. And there there was another one that comes right after that, right after he, runs down from Pete in the, restroom. He’s looking out the keyhole. They’re gonna leave. They’re gonna take Pete’s car and they’re gonna go get Liz and and Barbara, the mom. And Ed says, are there any zombies out there? And Sean looks back at him and goes, don’t say that. He said, what do you mean? He says, the zed Todd.   Don’t say that. He’s like, why not? He’s like, it’s it’s ridiculous. And I think that’s a nod to a lot of the zombie movies where the the word zombie is never actually uttered. And they just kinda draw attention to that too. And and it’s all over the place. You know, I we we we couldn’t cover them all in an hour if we wanted to because there are so many nods and references. But like you said, yes, as horror fans, we appreciate that, and it’s, you know, it’s it’s a tip of the hat, to the horror fans. And I think that we, as horror fans, really eat that up or at least I do. 

Todd:  Yeah. It’s really good. It’s really good. And and so, anyway, they end up going to his mom’s and, there his mom is just a sweet lady. She’s one of the moms who are just utterly positive all the time, to the point where that becomes part of the comedy is how she’s able to smile and try to be positive, even as she’s a little confused, even as she’s more or less dragged along through the chaos of what goes on. And they go to the moms, they grab her, and part of what I think makes it really work is that we get a strong sense of character and their relationships, and it’s believable and it’s good. And one thing that’s really nice is the relationship between him and his mom. And then also very early on and throughout the film, we understand that his relationship with his stepdad is strained.   His stepdad seems to order him around. He’s kind of bossy, and we we find out that he, you know, he was a stepdad since he was 12. And one thing that he keeps repeating through the movie is he’s not my dad. He’s not my dad. That, of course, comes back later, in a funny way, but they go to this mom’s and his stepdad’s been bitten, but he brings him into the car and then they run off to Liz’s house. You know, this is what you would do. Right? This is kinda what Yeah. 

Clip:  This is 

Todd:  all they know to do is round let’s round up our friends. Let’s make sure that that close circle people that we know are okay. And, Liz has I believe there’s some flatmates. Right? David and Diane are flatmates of hers, and, they go to her to her house. And David is the kind of kind of one of these guys who’s who’s a bit sober and somber most the time. You don’t feel like he knows how to break out and have a cut loose. 

Craig:  Yeah. Yeah. He’s just he’s tightly wound. You know, he’s a little bit high strung. And one of the gags is that he is clearly in love with Liz Todd. You know, like and Sean calls him out on it all the time and, of course, he denies it all the time. I don’t know that he ever really admits it. Diane, who I I I think that David and Diane are supposed to be a couple.   Later on down the line, you know, when somebody accuses David of being in love with Liz and he denies it. She she basically just says, oh, stop lying. You know, like, I knew you only I knew you were only around me to get close to her. And when she turned you down, then I was the next best thing. I know this. You don’t have to keep denying it. But but you like, you’re right. You know, these are not perfectly flat characters.   I mean they play certain roles and certain stereotypes, but they also do have some depth. I mean even Dave and Diane who are just kind of supposed to be the tagalongs, we get glimpses into their characters, and and they come across as real people. You know, Sean and Ed who are kind of, you know, these I don’t wanna call them losers. They’re not losers. They’re just, you know, they’re kinda stuck. You know? That’s the difference between them and Pete. You know, I think Pete used to party and stuff with them, but he’s moved on, he’s grown up. And Sean has to some degree, but he still working in the same retail job that he’s been working in probably since he was a teenager.   Yeah. He’s like an associate manager or something, but, you know, it’s not really a grown up job. And Ed is just the one who’s not grown up at all. Like, he’s still just acting like he’s in university. And like I you said before, I think we can all relate to that. I think all of us who, went off to school, and then, you know, school was over. It’s time to become an adult now. You know, some of us dove head first into that.   Some of us were a little bit more reluctant. Some of us rejected it entirely. And so it’s easy to relate to the characters. And even like you were talking about the relationship between Sean and his mom, It’s really sweet. It’s super sweet. And you even see that Ed really cares for deeply cares for Sean’s mom. Ed and Sean have been, friends since they were in, like, elementary school. And so Ed knows and loves Sean’s mom, and you see that connection, and it comes across as believable.   And I I agree with you a 100% that that is one of the major strengths of the movie. 

Todd:  Yeah. And it’s done so well. It’s just so subtly that it’s not this just never hits you over the head. It’s just natural in the circumstance. Midst of this issue that they have to deal with, and it’s fantastic writing. It’s really clever. It’s really smart. And so it’s funny, another one of these gags comes back, every when the last time he was ringing the bell, to come to Liz’s place, just before she dumped him, they wouldn’t let him in.   They wouldn’t buzz him in. They just heard him, on the other end and wouldn’t let him in. So he climbs up the side of the of the apartment, I guess, into the window. And that’s what he has to do here Todd, except they’re afraid to open the door for him. They press the button to hear what, you know, is coming through the intercom, and all they hear is the sounds of him beating back zombies. Yeah. And that’s that was their strategy, and it seems like, this is what David wanted to do. He just wanted to hang out here at the house, which is exactly what the news casters were telling them to do.   Sean is here to tell them, look, this is not safe. They will find a way in. We need to get somewhere more secure. And it’s at this moment where we see Sean growing up, and this is what you see this this recognition in Liz’s eyes. She’s suddenly attracted now to this man who, before, she accused of not being able to take any initiative, not being able to make decisions to do things. Now he is suddenly the one with the ideas, with the initiative, and and so she’s, like, yeah, we we should follow this, and you see that spark come back into her eyes, and, this is the kind of character development you need in a good movie, you know, is is that he’s gonna grow up and he’s gonna take charge. And, so they do this. They finally, convince him to do it, And she says, so what’s the plan then? And what his answer is exactly what he told her when he couldn’t get into full cheese restaurant, and that was, we’re gonna go to the Winchester.   Right. So then you have and another thing I love about this movie is it it never stops being a zombie movie, and so this next scene is just him with a cricket bat running ahead of them, whacking zombies right and left in the head, clearing the path for them to all pile in, Todd, this car. And so they’re all crammed in the back. There are, like, 4 people in the back of his car, including, his stepdad, his stepdad who is clearly not doing very well, and Ed Todd driving super recklessly as you’d imagine Ed Todd, almost like a video game. He seems to be taking some pleasure in going out of his way to whack zombies, as he’s going down the street, and so it’s pretty chaotic. It’s a really exciting scene, and then in the middle of this, in the back seat, the stepdad turns and looks at Sean, and he starts in with this little soliloquy. 

Clip:  Being a father is not easy. What? You were 12 when I met you, already grown up somehow. I just wanted you to be strong and and not give up because you lost your dad.   Philip, you don’t have to explain.   No. I I do. I I always loved you, Sean. I always thought you had it in your tongue to do well. You just need motivation. So somebody that looks up to her. I thought it could be me. 

Todd:  It’s so interesting. 

Craig:  Yeah Yeah. No. I was just gonna say you’re right. You know, I think that if if if I if I were if I were one of our listeners and I had never seen this movie, I would think that on paper, this sounds really stupid. It sounds really stupid that they would have this moment. You know, they’ve been strained their entire lives and then here in the midst of all this chaos, this stepdad who’s dying takes a minute, to deliver what is really a very sweet sentiment. And it Todd. Like you said, Simon Pegg does a great job of acting.   It clearly affects him. You know, his eyes water up and he tears up. And though to me it doesn’t sound great on paper, it just works. You know, you you care about these characters. You care about their relationships. And it’s nice to see them get some closure. And then it jumps right back into the comedy. You know, he dies.   The stepdad Philip dies, and, Sean is trying to break the news to his mom who’s in the front seat, and he’s like, Philip’s dead. Or no, first he says, Philip’s gone, and she’s, you know, she’s kind of daft anyway. She says, gone where? And he says, gone. He’s dead. And she turns over her shoulder and looks and we can’t see because she’s obstructing our view, but she goes, No, he’s not. And so then the camera shifts, and we see that that Philip has now turned and is sitting there, a zombie with them in the car. And it brings it right back to the comedy because then they all have to scramble. The child blocks are engaged.   They can’t get out. Eventually, they do get out. They’re surrounded by zombies. But again, it, you know, it takes the time for this little sweet moment, and then it jumps right back into the action and the comedy really seamlessly as far as I’m concerned, and I think that it’s really effective. 

Todd:  And so they end up going through this neighborhood, and Sean knows the shortcut, which is gonna be across all these fences. And he has these moments of badassery where David looks at the all the fences and says something like, Oh, so that’s your shortcut, I’ll cross all of the 8 foot fences across the yards. And Sean turns around and says some one liner to him, and then turns around and runs at the fence. And as he goes to leap over it, which it’s clear he’s probably gonna make it over it, the fence like collapses. It’s just so funny and the next shot is of them like going cutting through a yard by going through just the gate around the side of it. Anyway, so they’re running through the yards. There’s a moment where, Sean’s mom holds back because she says, I’m sure this is, somebody I know. They end up, in a yard next door and they’re like, wait a minute, somebody’s missing.   It’s his mom. So he has to go back and get his mom. And, his mom is lying flat on the ground and, sure enough, the sliding door has been opened and one of these neighbors that she had seen through the window is coming at them. So they have to fight him back. And, it’s funny because they’ve all they have to deal with is this, like, plastic furniture, like, all these plastic kid toys. So they’re whacking the zombies over the head with these chairs and these and these tables and things, but they’re not really doing much. So then he picks up. They pull out of the ground one of these tall oh, it’s like a tall pole with a with a rope and a and a ball.   It’s like like a tether ball or Yeah. Exactly. And he’s swing he’s like, oh, yeah. This is it. He swings it around like it’s a, a medieval, you know, instrument. This little ball just, boink, bounces off. He’s like, no. Use the end.   Use the end. So the use of the pole just impales the zombie into a tree. And so, he’s not dead, but he’s totally impaled, into the tree with this with this pole. So the Winchester is just over on the other side, and it’s clear that there are a ton of zombies that they have to work through. And what follows here is a scene of utter hilariousness. 

Craig:  Oh, yeah. It’s hilarious. Diane is a a failed actress. That was mentioned just off handedly earlier on. But they she she gives them all acting lessons on how to walk and moan like a zombie. 

Clip:  Right. That’s all. Shake out. Nice and limber or not. Now take another look at the way he moves. Remember, dialing. Almost like sea walking. Look at the face.   It’s vacant with a hint of sadness. Drunk has lost a bed. Okay. Let’s try, shall we? Please. Nice. Good vocal work. 

Craig:  And then it pans to the mom, and Diane’s like, oh, that’s great. And then the mom comes back into focus. She’s like, oh, sorry dear. I was 500 miles away. Like like like her general affect is just kind of zombie like anyway. And and so then that’s what they do. And and I feel like I’ve seen this in other movies before. You know, I don’t know if this was the first one to do it, but the living people just acting like zombies and, fooling the zombies, essentially.   And it works until they get to the bar door, and then they have to start conversing with one another because the doors are locked and they don’t know how they’re gonna get in. And once they start talking to one another, the zombies again take notice and Todd, swarming in on them. And there’s an, a moment where Ed is a drug dealer. I I say drug dealer. I think he sells people weed, but he he’s been getting calls, throughout so far. And then, so he gets a call right in this moment and he takes it nonchalantly, like they’re not surrounded by zombies. And Sean gets mad and knocks the phone out of his hand and and really kind of, chastises him and says, you know, you’re always getting us into trouble. You know, it’s it’s always you.   You’re the one that’s always, you know, messing up and getting us into trouble, and then I have to fix things. He’s like, well, not this time. And, Liz is all this time trying to get his attention. Sean. Sean. And when he finally turns around, they are just completely surrounded by these zombies staring at them. And, at this point, David picks up a trash can and throws it through the window. Now Sean had advised them not to do this because, that would leave a big entrance.   It would they would just the zombies would just follow them in, But David does it anyway, and so Sean distracts the zombies and leads them away so that the other people can get in and and find shelter without the zombies noticing and following. And again, it’s more character development. Sean’s taking control. He’s taking responsibility, and he’s putting other people’s safety before his own. We really see this guy grow up, on stage. And it’s it’s subtle, but it’s effective and and believable. And I think that, again, it’s just really reflective of really good writing and character development. And I think that, you know, this movie hits all those marks. 

Todd:  It really does. It really does. And, of course, now the next scene is they’re inside the pub, and they’re sitting around, and Sean is still not there. And they’re all just waiting and wondering what they should do. And, David, of course, is giving his lecture about how we shouldn’t have come here, we should have gone, what were we gonna do? Were we just gonna come here? Were we just gonna eat peanuts? Were we just gonna drink? What was the plan once you get to the Winchester? And at that moment, Sean does pop back in and he said, well, there’s a back door. I just came through the back door and, like every bar has. Right? So, right. So now they’re all back together again and and they’re like, so what’s the plan? He says, you want a peanut? And the next shot is just of them sitting around, and that is so true.   So they are at the bar, the zombies are all outside, and what in the world are they going to do at this point, but sit around. And it’s clear that they’ve been through many drinks, and it’s clear they’ve been eating, and they’ve been talking, and there’s nothing more for them to do or say to each other. And this is the point where I feel like this movie really jumps into Night of the Living Dead territory because Yeah. Most of Night of the Living Dead isn’t really about the zombies. The zombies are just a catalyst to get a bunch of people, who can’t get along into a house and see how the drama unfolds between them. And, you know, that’s really George Romero’s wheelhouse is commenting on the fact that, look, even if zombies take over the world, the zombies aren’t the problem. It’s us. We cannot muster up enough together to take care of that kind of threat that we’re, you know, it’s gonna be a Lord of the Flies situation.   They are safe for now. They know they won’t be soon, but they’ve got to figure out what to do. And in this, there’s tons of infighting. And at this point, more character development and things come forward. The idea here, I believe, is that Sean is going to he says, well, maybe the electricity is actually working because they see the street lights coming on in the back. And so that starts to propel the plot forward. He says, I’ll go down. I’ll flip the circuit breakers.   And, they’re like, well, we don’t want the lights to come on. He’s like, no. I’ll just turn on the ones that turn on the mains and not the lights, so that at least we can get a television on and see what’s going on. So he runs down and he does that and as he’s flipping breakers, in the back room there, he flips on one light and right next to him is a window. They’re just zombies piled against the window. Yeah. He sees it, and he flips it right back off again and walks out and closes the door. He says, look, we’ve got a problem.   It’s so funny. It’s it’s hilarious, but it’s true. They were never gonna be able to hang out here together anyway for 

Craig:  the Forever. Right. And that leads that leads to one of my favorite gags in the movie, when they go, they’re they’re in there now, and they they flip on the TV, but they can’t get any stations. All of the stations are dead. It’s just like the call letter screens. But the jukebox automatically kicks on, and it’s playing Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. And just as that happens, the zombified owner appears in the bar out of nowhere. So they all grab pool cues and start hitting this zombie guy, but they’re hitting him in perfect rhythm to the song.   And it goes and it goes on for a while, and it’s hilarious. And even I feel like Dave and Diana aren’t even participating, but they’re standing off watching, and they’re kind of, like, popping along to the music while they watch. And it’s it it that’s hilarious. But then the, the zombies, start breaking through the windows. And they’ve got this one gun because it’s the Winchester bar, and there was this gun, that hung above the bar that Sean was convinced was just a prop, but Ed was convinced was real. It turns out it was real. So they’re trying to figure out, and they found shells. They’re trying to figure out who’s gonna, you know, fight off these zombies as they come in, and they’re gonna try to, you know, like teamwork it.   The others are gonna help reload while Sean does the actual shooting. But while all this is going on, Sean and it’s chaotic. You know, zombies are starting to pour in the windows. Sean says to Liz, go get my mom somewhere safe. And, Liz goes to get her, and she pulls her into a corner of the bar, and it’s here where Barbara pulls her into a corner of the bar and it’s here where Barbara reveals that in her struggle with that neighbor zombie just, you know, 10 minutes before, she had been bitten. And she says that she didn’t wanna say anything because she didn’t wanna worry Sean. She knew Sean would be worried and she didn’t wanna make him worry. And so eventually they all even though the zombies are still pouring in, I think, David is left with the shotgun to try to hold them off.   But everybody else gathers around as Sean goes over to his mom and finds out that she has been bitten, and she starts to die. And again, it’s just another really, really sweet and frankly sad scene. Yeah. And you see, you know, Sean is really upset and he’s, you know, he’s saying, don’t leave me, don’t go. And the, and the mom is going and she does go and you see both Sean and Ed cry. And I guess that these actors were so invested in the story and in this character and potentially, I guess, the actors who played this character, that those were their genuine emotions, that they didn’t have to act through it. You know, the idea of of Barbara dying really did affect them that emotionally. And it reads, it reads on the screen.   It’s not melodramatic. It’s not overdramatic. It seems very real. You can see that they are. They’re hurting, and it’s you know, we’re talk we talk about the writing, and I I think the writing is great, but we’ve gotta give credit to these actors too. I mean, they just do a really good job. And and you don’t always find that in horror. You know, I’m not gonna knock a genre that I love, but, we get some pretty bad acting sometimes.   And and that’s that’s not that’s that’s not the case here. You know, these guys, they do they do a great job. 

Todd:  Oh, it is it is wonderful. And it is a moment, and this moment then leads to the problem that we all know is coming. And that is what are we gonna do about mom because we know she’s going to turn at any time. That’s when David picks up the rifle and steps back and says, you know what we have to do. And, Sean turns around and says, no, this is my mom. No. You’re not going to do this. She’s my mom.   And Ed breaks the bottle over the bar and holds it at his neck at David’s neck. And we get this suddenly, this Mexican standoff scene where everybody’s holding a broken bottle to somebody’s neck. I think, somebody’s got a corkscrew to David’s neck. Just whatever they had available at the bar was just broken bottles and cork and corkscrews. And, and it’s it’s a tense scene, but again, behind it all is always I mean, you know he’s gonna turn. Even Sean’s gotta know that she’s gonna turn. And so Right. Right.   You know, it’s eventually gonna end with her turning, and they have no choice. And that’s exactly what happens. But in the midst of this, you know, we get to see more of David’s character, and and quite frankly, he is not the guy to lead this group. He thinks he knows what he’s doing, and in this case, he knows what he’s doing, but his approach is completely wrong, completely insensitive. And so Right. You don’t garner a lot of sympathy for David. So when, Sean’s mom finally does turn, I don’t remember how all this happens, but somehow, Sean ends up with a gun, and he’s the one who ends up doing it. And and that is that is really heartbreaking. 

Craig:  Right. And and you knew it had to happen, and again, I think that it’s more character development for Sean. He’s not paralyzed, into inactivity. He does what has to be done as hard as it is for him. And then from then, from there, everything happens really quickly. You know, David is kind of dejected and kind of backs away towards the window, and he’s saying, I’m gonna leave. You know, I’m gonna take my chances out there. You know, if we run, we’ll be okay.   But we can see what’s gonna happen a mile away because he’s backed himself right up against the window. And and the zombies bust in and grab him and pull him out. And I feel like this is another homage shot, maybe to the original Dawn of the Dead where Yeah. Or or really any of the movies, frankly, where we actually see the guy, you know, getting eviscerated and eaten alive, and we see that. Diane, because David is her boyfriend, she’s there’s a she and Liz are trying to pull him back in, and, course, eventually, they just pull his legs free. And she she takes his leg and goes out and is trying to she opens the door and is gonna go out and try to get him, you know, irrationally, but she’s, like, beating the zombies with the leg and of course they get her. And then they, the zombies come flooding in, eventually they get a hold of Ed and and we, you know, Pete shows up, and I think that Pete is actually the one that ends up getting Ed and, and he gets bitten several times. I mean, you just know there’s no hope for him.   Liz and, Sean jump behind the bar. Sean is calling, Ed, Ed. And you see Ed’s body just kind of flop over the bar and he’s like, 

Clip:  what? 

Craig:  But he’s a mess. I mean, he’s clearly a goner. They they set the bar on fire to treat try to keep the zombies at bay, and it works, but just for a second, they realize that there’s a trap door in the floor that leads to the cellar. They get down there, but then they think they’re stuck down there. There’s some sort of like cargo door, in the ceiling, but they can’t get it open. They can’t figure out how to get it open. And, so they’ve got the shotgun and Liz says, How many bullets are left? And Sean says, I don’t know. I think 2.   And then they get into this serious moment that we see in these types of movies where they pretty much come to the conclusion that rather than be torn apart by zombies, it would probably be better for them to just take their own lives. 

Clip:  How are we gonna do this?   I don’t know. One of us has to go first.   Well well, may may maybe one should do the other and then do themselves.   Oh, maybe you should do me. I’ll only muck it up if I have to do myself.   Do you know? I don’t think I’ve got it in me to shoot my flatmate, my mom, and my girlfriend all in the same evening. Why   do I actually didn’t have taken you back? Oh,   you don’t wanna die single, do you? 

Craig:  And plus, I’ve changed. You know, I really have changed. One of the things that she had wanted him to do was to stop smoking. And he says, I haven’t had a a cigarette since yesterday. And she says, well, maybe we should have one now. So they go to light the cigarette and the illumination from the lighter illuminates a button. And it’s the button for the cargo door. It’s like an elevator.   The the last issue is that, Ed is clearly in bad shape. You know, Sean’s trying to get him you know, he’s saying come with us. And Ed says, you know, I I think I’m just gonna stay here. And and they have, you know, again, one of these surprisingly tender moments between these 2 goofy guys. You know, Sean feels bad about telling Ed that it was always his fault, that he always caused all these problems. And they they and and Sean says, I’m sorry. And, Ed says, I’m sorry too. And Sean says, Sorry for what? And then it’s the fart gag again. 

Todd:  You know? And it’s like, 

Craig:  it’s it’s a stupid gag, but when you realize that it’s as stupid and juvenile as it is, it’s something that these 2 guys shared. You know, it’s a little gag that they shared, and if this is gonna be their last moment together, the fact that they can share a laugh together, it’s nice and it’s sweet. 

Todd:  So Ed stays behind, and, Sean and his girlfriend go up the elevator onto the street, and there is, of course, as you can imagine, completely surrounded by zombies, and you’re thinking, maybe, this is kind of the end for them. How are they gonna fight their way out? And then, out of nowhere, machine gun fire, And it turns out that there’s a paramilitary force or whatever that had just been brought in by, apparently, by a friend of theirs who we neglected to mention they had run into earlier. And then the next thing you see are just, again, more flipping through the channels, very disinterestedly and this is clearly much, much later, long after the zombie threat has been neutralized. But apparently, there are still zombies in the world because we get all these funny gags of there being, like, zombie reality TV shows, people talking about the outbreak. Just as they’re about to say what what they caused of the zombie outbreak, the channel flips again. So we never quite hear that there’s a woman on a, like, a Jerry Springer type talk show saying, I know it’s crazy, but I still love him, and it’s it’s it’s the I’m married to my zombie husband episode. Just some silly stuff. But here we are back in Sean’s apartment and it’s much, much cleaner and he’s there with Liz, so they’re back together and they’re just talking about, what are we gonna do today? Her, response to him, it basically mirrors what his response would normally be to her, which is essentially this is a do nothing and a lays around kind of day.   And he says Right. That’s perfectly fine with me. 

Craig:  And then he says, do you mind if I head out to the shed for just a minute? And she kinda gives him a cute flirty smile, and she says, that’s fine. And he goes out there, and I figured this was what was gonna happen. But, he walks into the shed, and he sits down, and he picks up a game controller. And sitting right next to him, chained up very heavily is zombie Ed. And that’s and there’s a little joke where Ed tries to bite him, and he just kind of chastises him like, no, Ed. But then they just sit and play video games together like they had before. And it’s, you know, it’s it’s stupid, you know, but it’s it’s it’s kinda sweet, and it’s a a charming way to end the movie. I just really like it overall, and I think that most people do.  

I mean, it’s got a 92% fresh, rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It did pretty well. You know, I think that, people still reference this movie and talk about it a lot. There was some talk at some point about doing a sequel, and they even tentatively had a title, Shaun of the Dead 2: From Dusk till Shaun, which I actually think is really clever. But I guess, in the end, the writers decided that they were just really, really pleased with what they had done as a standalone film, and they decided just kinda let, Todd enough alone. And, as far as I know, there are no plans at this point for a sequel. And again, that’s a position I feel like I’ve talked about this before. That’s a position that I really kinda respect. 

Craig:  If you’ve done something good and you know it and, you know, why risk sullying that if you don’t have to? You know, just let it be what it is. And it’s not like they’re not still doing stuff. They’ve done, you know, the writing team, the actors, they’ve gone on to do other stuff together. Not horror, just, you know, comedies, but they’re all doing very well and I’m I’m happy for them. This, you know, it’s it’s a good movie, and, they deserves the recognition for it. 

Todd:  Oh, absolutely. I wouldn’t wanna mess with a good thing like this either. I think this was Simon Pegg’s it wasn’t the first thing he did, obviously. He was in British television and doing things otherwise, but I feel like this is the thing that put him on the map to the rest of, to the American audience anyway, and he started getting much bigger roles after this. And continuing to do writing, he’s really turned out really well from this. And, honestly, I part of the reason I think I hadn’t seen this and I took taken so long to see this is I really thought this was just gonna be another dumb horror comedy, and not that there’s anything wrong with that. I do enjoy dumb horror comedies, but this one really stands out. I mean, this, what makes this work is it’s a comedy first.   It’s a horror movie second, and it never stops being a zombie movie, which is great. It just strikes that right balance. But I think what I’m saying is the movie manages to be funny without poking fun at the genre. It’s not a horror comedy that’s making fun of horror movies. It’s not making fun of zombie movies really. It has, you know, it does play with the tropes a little bit, but not overly so. The most it really does is just reference a lot of others zombie movies. The the comedy in this movie comes from the actual interactions between the characters, and, that is a tough feat to pull off.   It is a tough to restrain yourself, to make that kind of a horror comedy because it’s not normally what we see. You’ve got scary movie on one far end of it. You know, we did student bodies recently. Again, all the comedy from that comes from poking fun at the genre. This movie really doesn’t do it much. It’s more about the people, it’s about their relationships, we care about the people, we find humor in their relationships, and they’re just stressed with a difficult situation that happens to be zombies. So there’s some comedy to be mined from that, but then there’s just the comedy to be mined from pushing these people together and forcing them to work through this. And it just fires on all cylinders.   I mean, I I don’t usually gush about a movie like this, but I came away from this going, wow, I will be seeing this again multiple times. It is that good. 

Craig:  Yeah. And that’s how I feel about it too. I mean, it’s not just a good horror movie. It’s just a good movie. And I think that anybody who, you know, likes, you know, just filmmaking and cinematography and storytelling in general can appreciate this even if they may not be the biggest horror fans. I think that there are people who may not be big fans of the genre, but could still very much enjoy this film. 

Todd:  Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you again for listening to another episode. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend. You can find us on Itunes and Stitcher and Google Play. Also, we wanna thank Dan Tucker for his recommendations. This is a great movie. Thank you, Dan.   I wish I could’ve watched it with you. If you have a recommendation of a film you’d like us to watch, please let us know on our Facebook, channel, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw. Just search us, and you should be able to find us there. Until next time. I’m Todd 

Craig:  And I’m Craig. 

Todd:  With 2 Guys and a Chainsaw.