Full Review

Part gorefest, part laughfest, part apocalyptic love story, the buddy-horror hybrid directed by Edgar Wright is one of the most subversively funny films to come down the pike in awhile; it is also, without question, one of the most gratuitously violent. Simon Pegg (who shares screenwriting credit with Wright) plays Shaun, a twenty-something slacker stuck in a dead-end job managing an electronics store in a suburb of London. Just when his life couldn't possibly get any worse, his long-suffering girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) dumps him because of his lack of commitment and his reluctance to curtail time spent with his oafish, drug-dealing flatmate Ed (Nick Frost).

His Murphy's Law misfortunes go from dismal to disastrous when he wakes up to discover that London has become the site of an inexplicable plague turning most of the locals into flesh-eating zombies overnight. Now it's up to Shaun and Ed to round up friends and family and bushwhack their way through masses of London's reanimated residents, bunkering themselves in the short-lived safety of -- where else? -- their favorite pub.

In addition to the unabashedly obvious influence of George Romero's seminal "Dawn of the Dead," "Shaun of the Dead" borrows from a number of cinematic sources, including Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and John Carpenter's 1976 "Assault on Precinct 13." Already well-known across the pond, the slovenly and sallow Pegg is perfectly cast as the feckless-to-fearless hero. The rest of the ensemble is equally fine, especially Bill Nighy as Shaun's creepy-enough-alive stepdad.

What makes this probable-cult-classic stand out from the recent rash of zombie-themed movies is its waggish blend of droll black comedy and horror conventions. More satire than sendup, "Shaun" relies on straight humor for its laughs rather than the self-conscious spoofing of other films exhibited in the "Scary Movie." Perhaps the funniest moment comes during the coda, when, the pandemic having passed and normal life resumed, England organizes a benefit concert called "Zomb-Aid."

It must be emphasized that the movie is extremely bloody and includes several scenes of people being torn apart by the lumbering Londoners, who then proceed to gorge themselves with dismembered limbs. It also has some decapitations and an impaling tossed in for good measure. That being said, much of the mindless mayhem is presented with tongue planted firmly in cheek, which tempers -- but hardly excuses -- the repulsiveness of the over-the-top carnage.

"Shaun of the Dead" also offers some biting social satire about modern society, suggesting that the rat race and our catatonic fixation with TV and video games has set us on the path to zombiefication more surely -- if not as swiftly -- than any extraterrestrial epidemic.

Due to excessive graphic and gory violence, recurring rough and crude language, and much vulgar humor, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.