Shawn of the Dead

'Shawn of the Dead' is a comedy, romance and horror movie made in 2004. It was directed by 'Edgar Wright' who was also responsible for the TV series 'Spaced' which consist of the same cast as 'Shawn of the Dead'. The story of the movie is about a man, Shawn, who's life has become quite routine and boring and his girlfriend, Liz, is starting to get fad up with it and his best friend, Ed, isn't helping. When Shawn forgets to book a table at a restaurant for him and Liz she decides to call it quits and ends their relationship. On the same day the dead decide to come back to life but this does not stop Shawn from trying to get his love back and while he's at it try to repair his relationship with his mum, Barbara.

The movie begins with Shawn having a conversation with his girlfriend, Liz. They are talking about the problems of their relationship, which introduces the two main characters, But by using the conversion the director is able to introduce even more characters and zooming in and out from Shawn and Liz brings them into the movie. Its a simple and quick way to introduce most of the characters but also keeps it really funny.

The director uses quite simple but funny techniques to keep the movie moving. By editing a number of clips of everyday things such as having a shower and brushing your teeth together into a small time slot he has kept the movie moving without making it boring and slow. Not only does this make the scenes humorous but it also pushes forward the idea of his life becoming routine. Another technique the director uses is by repeating a scene but changing what is happening around Shawn without him even realizing. there are two scenes in the movie where Shawn walks to his local off license and back but the second time round their is a zombie outbreak. These scenes do two things, first it reiterates the idea of his life being routine and it does it in a really funny way and second it keeps the movie moving by introducing the zombie outbreak.

By using simple techniques the director keeps the plot moving but also keeps the laughter together with great characters and odd surroundings this is a brilliant movie.