Critical Response to Shaun of the Dead

Considered a critical and commercial success, Shaun of the Dead left a lasting impression on viewers around the globe. Besides obtaining a highly impressive freshness rating of 90% at Rottentomatoes.com, the horror/comedy also boasts a 7.9 user rating (out of 10) at the Internet Movie Database. Below, I’ve detailed the reactions of five movie critics, as well as provided links to their full reviews.

Roger Ebert - The king of movie critics, Ebert gives the film a solid 3 out of 4 stars. However, most of his review is spent talking about what happened in the movie instead of actually writing a critique. He singles out Bill Nighy’s performance as enjoyable, and also seems to appreciate the fact that the film is about more than just finding endless ways to kill zombies. He also favorably mentions several aspects of British life and attitude which are skewered, but otherwise doesn’t seem to have much to say.

Link to full review: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/REVIEWS/40913006/1023

Peter Travers - The veteran movie critic for Rolling Stone magazine gave Shaun of the Dead a solid 3 out of 4 stars. He singles out Pegg, Frost, and Nighy for their performances, going so far as to state that Pegg’s Shaun is played with "real feeling." He cites the scene where the group must impersonate zombies as the comedic high point of the film. Travers also pays a compliment when he mentions that moviegoers may get genuinely choked up during Liz and Ed’s reconciliation. Despite not giving it his highest rating, Travers really doesn’t have anything bad to say about the film.

Link to full review:http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/_/id/6475791

Harry Knowles - The film critic for Ain’t It Cool News gushed over this film, calling it one of the greatest geek movies ever. He praises the acting, the editing, the soundtrack, and everything else imaginable. He especially seems fond of the characters, calling them both fully developed and instantly likable. Knowles cites the chemistry between Ed and Shaun as the key ingredient for the film’s success. While he doesn’t give out letter or number grades, one can’t help but suspect that, if he did, Shaun of the Dead would get the maximum rating.

Link to full review:http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=18461

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - Reviewed by their Office of Film and Broadcasting, Shaun of the Dead received a classification of O (meaning morally offensive). That, however, doesn’t mean that the reviewer didn’t like the film. In fact, he called it "one of the most subversively funny films to come down the pike in awhile." Once again, Bill Nighy gets singled out for his fine performance. The reviewer cites the funniest moments of the film as coming after the zombie invasion, especially the organization of the benefit concert "Zomb-Aid." Ultimately, though, the reviewer felt that the witty satire was drowned out by the excessive gore and violence.

Link to full review:http://www.usccb.org/movies/s/shaunofthedead.shtml

James Berardinelli - This respected Internet film critic gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He writes that the film is almost never scary, but is consistently funny. In fact, his biggest complaint with the film centers around the unconvincing horror scenes. He does, however, praise the character development and many solid performances (especially Simon Pegg). He goes on to say that the biggest difference between this film and Dawn of the Dead is that this time around we’re laughing with the movie and not at it.

Link to full review:http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/s/shaun_dead.html