Reviving “Shaun of the Dead”

As we all know from movies asvaried as Dracula and Twilight, vampires can be sexy. Zombies,though, not so much. A zombie apocalypse means a large (and growing) contingentof slobbering undead humanoids staggering through the streets, on the trail ofhuman victims who are fated (once bitten) to turn into zombies themselves.Yuck! 

 I’ve learned that the conceptof a zombie developed out of Haitian folklore, involving the resurrection ofdead souls. The word “zombie,” adapted from African languages, entered Englishin 1819, via poet Robert Southey’s history of Brazil. But our current obsessionwith zombies can be credited mostly to filmmaker George A. Romero, whose spooky1954 low-budget horror flick, Night of the Living Dead, was followed bytwo equally popular sequels. Michael Jackson helped too: in his 1983 musicvideo, “Thriller,” ghoulish creatures rise from their graves and foot-drag downthe sidewalk in pursuit of potential victims.

 Clearly, zombies are not alot of fun. Except when it comes to an unlikely zombie comedy that borrows thetitle of Romero’s second film, Dawn of the Dead. In that 1978 drama,zombies take over an all-American suburban shopping mall, with bloody results.In 2004, director Zack Snyder came up with a Dawn of the Dead remake: heassembled an all-star cast (Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Ty Burrell) as mallclerks and shoppers fending off the inevitable carnage. That same year broughta British film that gave “stiff upper lip” a new meaning. Comicwriter/performers Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg set their story in the Crouch Endsection of London. In their telling, vividly directed by Wight, the zombieapocalypse challenges the laid-back lifestyle of two slackers (vividly playedby Pegg and comedian Nick Frost) who are mostly oblivious to the world aroundthem. Belatedly getting their cues from a newsreader on their big-screen TV,they try staving off the marauders by flinging disks from their recordcollection (like, for instance, the Batman soundtrack), but discoverthat a cricket bat works better. Still, while Shaun discovers in himself someunexpected leadership qualities, the easily distracted Ed keeps ducking out toeat ice cream and play video games. Eventually a cluster of survivors ends upinside Shaun and Ed’s favorite pub, with zombies trying to break down thewindows.

 Though it’s impossible totake any of the above too seriously, there’s still some real pathos in Shaun’svaliant attempts to protect his ex-girlfriend (who eventually finds new respectfor this doofus) and his mother (who does her best to accept some dramaticchanges in her comfortable life). I’ve read that none other than Helen Mirrenwas offered the mother’s rather surprisingly poignant role, though she turnedit down; veteran actress Penelope Wilton (of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)is a fine substitute. But perhaps the single most vivid performance is turnedin by the always memorable Bill Nighy, who plays Shaun’s stepdad. At first he’sa grouchy middle-class type, proud of his Jaguar and carpingly critical of hisstepson. But as the supernatural invaders close in, his deeply-felt apology toShaun is touching . . . and then, well, Nighy is singularly creepy when he’sundead.

  I won’t spoil any more of the plot. But it’sworth noting that George Romero—Mr. Zombie himself—was delighted by Shaun ofthe Dead, to the point that he offered Wright and Pegg roles in his 2005 Landof the Dead. Both turned down the parts he had reserved for them andinsisted on appearing as zombies, among hordes of others. They wanted, I’mguessing, to know how the other half “lives.”