"You've got some red on you." -- Shaun of the Dead

I was really planning on reviewing a book this week, but the movie I saw yesterday was just too good to pass by.

Shaun of the Dead is an absolutely glorious dark comedy about a Londoner named (shockingly) Shaun. Simply put, this is the funniest movie from 2004 that I've yet seen.

The film starts with some fairly mundane British humor as we are introduced into our protagonist, Shaun, a 29 year old working at an appliance store. Parallels are frequently made between normal loser Shaun and the classic zombie image (But, as they say in the film, "we aren't using the zed word"): he wakes up groaning, moaning, and walking jerkily, he shuffles obliviously to and from the store, and his life is highly repetitive (every one of his dates with girlfriend Liz ends at a pub called the Winchester). After he botches setting up a dinner reservation, Liz dumps him and he and Ed (his loser roommate who spends his days playing video games, drinking beer, and selling drugs) spend the night getting really drunk at the aforementioned pub.

This is approximately when the the zom- er... life-challenged humanoids (hereafter referred to as LCHs) start really showing themselves and the movie takes a turn for the supernatural. In a great scene, Shaun walks down to his local convincingly store completely oblivious to the gorey scenes around him. When he returns home, he and Ed discover a girl staggering around in their back yard; they assume she's drunk until she attacks them. They discover what she is and run back inside (but not before running into another LCH). A news show tells them how to take 'em out: "Remove the head or destroy the brain." They proceed to do that and comedy ensues.

To make a long story short, they get Shaun's parents, Liz, and Liz' friends and go to the Winchester, hoping to find a secure locale. A Deus ex Machina eventually resolves the situation (although to be fair, it had been well set up beforehand) and we are treated to a fantastic Epilogue.

As I said above, I thought this movie was uproariously funny, but it has its moments of genuine drama as well. A few disclaimers: the gore is really quite bad (in one psyche-scarring scene, a character is ripped and torn apart right in front of us), although as long as you realize that its all fake, much of it can be funny as well (in an absurdist sort of way); likewise, if you try to empathize with Shaun too much, the movie can be a real downer here and there. If you have a problem with naughty language, parts may offend you (particularly in the beginning). In short, the movie works best if you don't take it too seriously.

Acting: 4/5 body parts (The acting was flawless, but the film didn't require anything particularly difficult from the actors).
Sound: 3/5 undead snarls (The gore sounded appropriations squishy, the music fit when necessary. In short, good, but like acting, nothing special required).
Visuals: 4/5 prosthetic wounds (The LCHs were fabulous. For the most part, the gore was highly realistic. The shots were also pretty well done, especially when they were going over potential plans).
Humor: 5/5 pints of Guinness (I was in stitches).
Story: 3.5/5 projectile records (A simplistic story that was highly conductive to humor but not not really all that exceptional in and of itself).

Overall (not necessarily determined by the above categories): 4.5/5 Jaguars (See this movie unless you have a good reason not to).