Shaun of the Dead
Movie, 2004, Named by the director, Set in First in the trilogy
Shaun of the Dead is #30 of 48 in release order and #1 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
Shaun of the Dead recap
Shaun, a 29-year-old electronics shop worker in North London, spends every night at his local pub, the Winchester, with his slacker flatmate and best friend Ed. His girlfriend Liz dumps him for never changing. Hungover and miserable, Shaun walks to the corner shop the next morning without noticing that the dead have risen around him. When he finally does, he and Ed make a plan: rescue Shaun's mother Barbara and his stepfather Philip, collect Liz and her flatmates David and Dianne, and hide in the Winchester until it all blows over. Philip turns out to have been bitten and dies on the way. The group fights its way through gardens and streets, imitates zombies to slip past a crowd, and gets to the pub, where zombies surround them. Barbara is revealed to have been bitten. It begins Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, each film featuring a different flavour of Cornetto ice cream.
Shaun of the Dead ending explained
Shaun and Liz survive; Ed is turned, and ends up living in Shaun's shed. In the pub, Shaun shoots his turned mother, David is torn apart, and Dianne goes outside after him. Ed is bitten. Shaun and Liz reach the cellar, and Ed stays behind. The army arrives and rescues them. Six months later, Shaun and Liz live together, the zombies are used as cheap labour and game show contestants, and Shaun visits Ed, now a zombie, chained in the garden shed, to play video games.
Where to watch Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is streaming on Peacock in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Intolerable Cruelty, before 2046.
- Chronological order: first, before Hot Fuzz.
Cast
- Simon Pegg as Shaun
- Nick Frost as Ed
- Kate Ashfield as Liz
- Lucy Davis as Dianne
- Dylan Moran as David
- Jessica Hynes as Yvonne
- Penelope Wilton as Barbara
- Bill Nighy as Phillip
- Martin Freeman as Declan
- Matt Lucas as Cousin Tom
- Peter Serafinowicz as Pete
- Rafe Spall as Noel
Directed by Edgar Wright.