Audre Myers is offering up an unusual-for-her pick in this week’s edition of Myersvision—a comedy horror flick!  Given the time of year, it’s even more unusual, but who says yuletide can’t become ghoultide? [I originally had this review scheduled for the week leading up to Christmas, but pushed it to January due to the various Christmas movie reviews Audre, Ponty, and I wrote in December.  I liked my “ghoultide” pun too much to revise it, and it is technically still the Christmas season through 6 January 2023, Epiphany (and Audre’s birthday!). —TPP]

Ponty picked Shaun of the Dead (2004) as his Number 9 Best Film, so it’s interesting to compare his review to Audre’s.  Ponty (and myself, I should add) loves this film; Audre’s take is altogether different.

I don’t want to spoil too much of her—let’s call it “scathing”—review, but I’m going to chalk up the difference of opinion to the generation and gender gaps.  While I have known plenty of women who enjoyed Shaun of the Dead, it definitely has more of a “guy” vibe to it.  I find Pegg and Wright’s antics hilarious, and am a big fan of their so-called Cornetto Trilogy, of which Shaun is the first installment.

I also think that the title character does show some growth and transformation, going from being little more than a shuffling zombie himself to rising to the occasion to help save his friends.  The duress of a zombie outbreak forces this loser to change his ways to protect himself and his loved ones, even if he makes mistakes and reverts to old habits along the way.

But I digress.  Audre offers up a good counterbalance to the fanboyish enthusiasm of Ponty and myself.

With that, here is Audre’s review of 2004’s Shaun of the Dead:

1. I don’t like comedies. They never make me laugh. 2. My wonderful son-in-law has a photographic memory, is artistically talented, and is the manager of the art department for the company he works for – he’s brilliant. 3. My daughter and my son-in-law are fun people and very ‘culturally’ savvy.

I had to tell you that so that I could tell you this: I just watched the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I watched it because my son-in-law (now referenced as sil for easier typing) recommended it when I complained to him that I was having zombie withdrawal – I’ve just finished another binge of The Walking Dead that included the final episodes and I very recently binged Fear the Walking Dead so I asked and he recommended. When he told me about it, I mistook it for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ([1994], which I will never watch, thank you very much). But he explained, “Audre – it has two things you love; England and zombies.” Well, I don’t love zombies – I mean, who could? But I like the stories of striving against seemingly insurmountable odds and I do the love the English so I thought this was a good day to watch Shaun of the Dead – suggested by someone I respect.

Humor, however, is subjective and not objective and therein lies the rub. Shaun was written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, who ‘stars’ as the character Shaun. I was shocked to see Penelope Wilton as Shaun’s not very bright mother – she is an outstanding actress (Isobel Crawley in Downton Abbey). The economy must have been rough in 2004 when this (I use the term lightly) film was released – that would have to be the only reason she agreed to a part in this simply horrible horror/(not funny) comedy.

You can read the Wiki page regarding the movie (although I can’t imagine why anyone would – talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill!) at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_of_the_Dead

It’s a loser movie about losers and even the end is about losers. There are no redeeming qualities to this film. Even the zombie makeup is bad and actor/zombies are even worse.

Now I have to come up with something to tell my sil – how do you tell someone you love that you think their sense of taste is in their mouth and not engaged with accurate evaluation of a movie? Sigh. What’s a mother-in-law to do?