Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Where do we even start with Edgar Wright's 2004 Zom-Com, Shaun of the Dead? Should we start with it's air tight script? Maybe we start with the fact that George Romero loved the film and had Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg play zombies in his film, Land of the Dead? Or, hear me out... maybe we just start with how this film may be the absolute pinnacle when it comes to horror-comedies? No matter where we start, this iconic and laugh packed take on the zombie genre, is an absolute classic that no fan of horror OR comedy should miss. How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Hosts: Bart Shannon, Lindsey Roberts
Guest: Savannah Bearden

Purchase tickets for Savannah's The Makeup Show: https://friendsofgeorges.org/shows/the-makeup-show/

Music provided by MKE. Check out more of his music at detectivemusic.com and Detective on Spotify.

Creators and Guests

Host

Bart Shannon

Bart Shannon is a film and commercial producer/director and a diehard horror fan. His 2023 documentary feature film, Show Business is My Life, But I Can't Prove It, is available on all streaming platforms.

Host

Lindsey Roberts

Lindsey Roberts is a film, commercial and theatre actress, who has appeared in over 20 films including Hustle and Flow and Craig Brewer's breakthrough film, The Poor and Hungry. Her extensive theatre roles have included Velma in Chicago, Tanya in Mamma Mia, Nancy in Oliver and multiple years as Pan in Peter Pan.

Composer

MKE

Hear more of MKE's music at https://detectivemusic.com/ and Detective on Spotify.

Guest

Savannah Bearden

What is Die Laughing?

You'd be hard pressed to find a more divisive sub-genre of horror than horror-comedy. Those who hate it, really, really hate it. But for those of us who love horror as much as we love comedy, there is something truly special about a film that manages to combine these two genres into a perfect blend.

On the Die Laughing podcast, hosts Bart Shannon, Lindsey Roberts and a weekly special guest, take a tour through some of the best and worst entries in the horror comedy field!

GB Shannon (00:01.625)
Hello, Lindsay Roberts. Hello, Bart Shannon. How excited are you about this week's movie and this week's guest? Well, I'm thrilled. I think this is probably my favorite comedy horror. It's been a few years since I've seen it. I was really excited to jump in. And then this particular person who is our guest, I've worked with her many times. And I'm always so, so happy when I find out that she's on a project that I get to do. my god, I can't wait. Let's just do it. Let's get started. Let's do it. It's die laughing.

GB Shannon (00:44.846)
Lindsay? Hi. I'm so excited about this week. You know, at my age, anything that gets you excited, you know, makes you feel like you're alive. That's right. And so it's good to be alive. It's good to be alive. Should we tell them what movie we're doing here? I think we kind of have to. I think we do. It's such a good one, I think we have to. It is. All right. This episode, we are going to be talking about Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead. Yes! How about that? It's so good. It's so good. All right. We're going to bring out our guest.

Our guest today is a good friend of both of ours, a very talented and funny woman. She produces and created and writes this incredible, not yearly, maybe semi-yearly, it's called The Breakup Show. And it's absolutely phenomenal. It's produced and performed in Memphis, Tennessee. They just take your breakup stories. They act out your breakup stories. They analyze your breakup stories and they collect real breakup stories. And it is a fucking fantastic show.

And there's a show coming up in November. So perfect timing for our guest to come on and not only join us talking about Shaun of the Dead, but to talk a little bit about the upcoming breakup show. Please welcome our wonderful guest, Savannah Bearden. Hey, y'all. Hi, Savannah.

How are you? I'm great. I'm great. I'm excited to be here on this podcast. I'm just excited to be here and see your faces. guess the first question should be, have you ever seen Shaun of the Dead? Hey, I have seen Shaun of the Dead several times. Okay. But it has been also been several years since I have seen Shaun of the Dead. And as I let y'all know, I am terrified of zombies. So there's a reason why

I was a little hesitant to walk back down that road. We're here for you, Savannah. We are here for you. Sorry, it started with the Michael Jackson thriller video when I was young. I just, it literally, that's where my fear of zombies came from. And it's, still can't listen to that song when the Vincent Price part. Well, to paraphrase the poet, George Michael, don't be afraid. I will be your father figure. Thank you. love you till the end of time. Yes, I will put my tiny hand in yours, Bart. God, y'all, I'm dead.

GB Shannon (03:04.495)
All right. I would assume there are people that do live under a rock or have lived under a rock and have not seen Shaun of the Dead. So let's together watch the trailer for 2004's brilliant Shaun of the Dead. It's going to be a treat.

GB Shannon (03:31.403)
think modern life is not for you.

same dead-end job every day. There's no I in team but there is an I in pie. There's an I in meat pie. The anagram of meat is team. don't know. Is your love life dying on its feet? To a wonderful mom. Have you ever felt that

Zombie

to comment religious groups are calling it judgment day. It is vital that you stay in your homes. A hero must rise. Avoid all contact with the assailants.

GB Shannon (04:28.687)
before destroying the brain. Look for the head. Purple Rain. Son of the Sun. Definitely not. The Batman soundtrack. it. The biggest zombie comedy in British history is invading America. I'm coming! And if you're looking for a man... I'm taking a shortcut before.

The right moves. Nice, good vocal work. Let's all try it together, shall we? One, two... The right lines. The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation. Good luck! And the right...

Two seconds. And hunger there.

Sorry, call.

GB Shannon (05:22.127)
Oi! Sean?

GB Shannon (05:29.441)
He's my husband, you know. I still love him. I've still got the ring on my finger. You go to bed with it? How about that? How about that? That's 2004, all in a nutshell right there. Correct, right? I saw it in theaters for Halloween last year because it does have a special place in my heart. But you know how it is when you love a film so much you've seen it so many times you assume...

Like nobody wants to talk about this movie because you know, it's like I've seen it a billion times and I assume everyone else has but not everyone has but it is worth anyone's watch and anyone's multiple watch just to catch those who have been under a rock. A of the Dead was a UK released in April 2004. It was directed by Edgar Wright who at the time this was his first film. He was a director of television in the UK most famously Spaced where he and Simon Pegg really

found their way as writers and filmmakers. The script was written by Peg and Edgar Wright. The original title was Tea Time of the Dead. Right? Isn't that funny? Yeah, so British. Tea Time of the Dead. Yeah, that's a lot different than, yeah, It does, doesn't it? Which I think Shot of the Dead is much funnier and it rhymes with Dawn of the Dead. Dawn of the Dead? How about that? I get it now. I get it now. just now got that. Really? I love you.

It's the first part of the so-called Cornetto trilogy, which Cornetto ice cream is mentioned in Shaun of the Dead because after the premiere of the movie, Cornetto ice cream sent them a shit ton of free ice cream. They said, well, we're going to mention it in all of these other films too and see if they'll keep sending us free ice cream, which they did not. But this one is the Cornetto Red because it's a red label of Cornetto ice cream representing the blood of Shaun of the Dead. Then in Hot Fuzz, their second film, it's Cornetto Blue.

blue for cop uniforms. And then their third film, World's End, Cornetto Green for little green men, the aliens of that. I'm already learning so much guys. This is great. Just going to hang back. That's what Bart is here for. Like I said, it's hard not to talk about this movie without talking about Spaced. The concept of this movie was originally concocted on an episode of Spaced. At the end of season one, they shot this zombie, Simon Pegg's character.

GB Shannon (07:49.073)
up all night on speed playing Resident video games. Yeah, and then there's this zombie sequence and then he and Edgar Wright were riding in a cab together and Edgar Wright said, we should do a zombie, a whole zombie movie. And that's sort of the origin of that. And many of the zombie extras in the movie, they sent out press release and put out flyers saying, hey, Space fans, do you want to be in a horror film for the makers of Space? So that's where that starts. Yeah, and apparently like,

Some of them either didn't get paid at all or only got paid like a pound. They just wanted to do it. Like they just wanted to be in the movie. Oh, wow. So the movie opens in the pub, The Winchester, which is a main location in this film. It opens the film and the last half hour of the film is in The Winchester. I love that it's called The Winchester. That makes me really happy. And I think there's some really fun moments in there, especially

know, hearkening to their need for weaponry and guns later. And it's just England. And there's a bar called the Winchester. Yeah. Sean is in the Winchester with his girlfriend, Liz, and her friends. And we right off the bat see that Sean is having a little difficulty growing up and moving into a deeper part of this relationship with his girlfriend, Liz. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, there's a, you know, a shot of...

Sean and a shot of Liz and they are having this conversation that you think is just between the two of them because that's what normal people would do, right? If you're having like a serious conversation about your relationship, it's just gonna be the two of you and they're talking about life and I haven't even met your mother and...

you know, it's not that I don't like your friends. Well, I don't know if I like your friends either. And of course they like pan out and the friends are just sitting right there at the table, literally right next to them. know, Ed is totally oblivious, not even paying attention and the, you know, her friends who I think are just fantastic characters in the, in the film and add so much. are so funny. And all of this kind of like shows how like close they're always at this bar together all the time. That's how familiar they all are with each other and the group dynamics. Like no one's offended.

GB Shannon (09:51.329)
It's just, this is just how it is. Right, exactly. They're totally not offended. They're like, no, we get it. You know, we get it. But that's the problem, right? We are always at the Winchester. Yeah. You find out right away that Liz is over being at the Winchester and she mentions that on their recent anniversary, they came to the Winchester. And so she gets Sean to promise that he will book a real reservation at a real restaurant and they will, they will celebrate it.

And also we get to meet Ed, you know, Nick Frost. my God, what? Is something kind of special in just how raw he is. As much as this film is a director's showcase, watching it now versus 21 years ago, it's an actor's showcase. There are so many great performances in this. Absolutely. Yeah. But Ed especially, I just read yesterday that his first line to the table,

Can I get any of you cunts a drink was a total ad lib. Which is really funny because they were pretty particular about that. There is not a lot of improving in this movie where it feels like the type of movie where you're thinking they just are saying this shit. They're just saying whatever fucking comes to their mind. They're not. They were very particular about sticking very closely to the script and there's very little ad libbing. There's a couple of moments in there like that moment where you're like, oh, OK, here we go. Uh huh. Uh He's that guy.

Yes, yes. So that's an excellent setup for where we are. This is a protagonist that is really struggling growing up, trying to move into that next phase of a relationship and of his life. After this scene, we go back to Sean's apartment and we get to meet his other flatmate, Pete, played by Peter Sarah Finowich. It rolls right off the tongue. does, it certainly does. Best known as Brian Butterfield, also from The Tick. He was also in Space.

but Lindsay, know you know this and I'll say this just for you as a diehard Star Wars fan, he voiced Darth Maul in the Phantom Menace. I know, right? I did not know that. Fast facts. In this scene, we get to see that Ed is just a freeloader and he's just hanging out there and has been there for, I think Peter says, remember that time where we all stayed up all night drinking schnapps and hanging out and playing Tekken. Sean laughs and says, when was that? And he goes, it was five years ago. Yeah, he hasn't left since.

GB Shannon (12:08.593)
But during this time, we also get the first shot of Peter in the bathroom mirror. there's this, as throughout this movie, there are so many callbacks to jokes, callbacks to shots, callbacks to references. And this is the first one we, Simon Pegg is in the mirror. He moves it slightly and then there's Pete standing right over his shoulder in the mirror complaining about the door being left open. And that gets brought back up later to their detriment.

So, you we've now established the main core of these friends and their roommates. We've set up now what the movie is about relationship-wise. And now after this scene, we move into other elements of what it might become. What I like about this scene, too, is it's kind of interesting that Ed is very clearly the deadbeat, right? I mean, that's established very quickly.

But as soon as Sean sits down on the couch, wakes up and sits down on the couch, he grabs a controller and it says, player two has entered the game. And he's like, well, what else have I got to do today? And he was like, you have to be at work in an hour. And then it was immediately, player two has left the game. So as much of a loser as he is, he's kind of the person that's like, hey, you got shit to do. I ain't gonna do it, but you got shit to do. Okay, go work. So I could continue to freeload. Let me keep up with your schedule so you can keep.

Yes. Providing for me. It's pretty funny. Clearly your natural tendency is to slack. Like that is your, that is out of the bed, go to slack. Don't think about work yet. I prioritize my slacking by making sure that you don't. I've seen this movie so many times and I did not get this until yesterday when I watched it again. Tell me, tell me, tell me. So when Ed...

answers the call when Pete is saying, you clean up around the house? And can you take messages for people other than you? And so he gets the call about weed and he said, he just says, barely have enough for myself. Later, when Sean goes to work, his teenage coworker says, no, I called him. didn't, he doesn't have anything. Um, so.

GB Shannon (14:07.761)
Ed was his 17 year old co-workers weed dealer. I missed that too. But I did love there was this kind of throwaway line that Ed says, he says, man, the next time I see Pete, he's going to be dead. any, of course. Well, uh-huh. They're foreshadowing. Yeah, that's funny. I didn't catch that Bart. That's a good catch. Can we talk about the peak 2004ness of this film? Just the phone alone, just the tiny cell phones, you know.

Liz with her shiny navy blue eyeshadow. So good. I mean, I just kept being delighted by all these things. Like, it's a disposable film camera. Look at that. my God. So good. Right? Yes. Yeah. So just those little nuggets throughout. Looking in the phone book for a telephone number. Yes. And then like ringing the restaurant because you've looked it up in the phone book. Brilliant. You guys don't you don't still do that? huh. Yeah. we sure do.

I barely even use Google anymore. Let's be real. The credit sequence that comes right after the scene in the opening scene in the Winchester. Everybody in that scene, almost all of them become zombies later in film. But there's that scene where everyone's standing at the bus stop with their tiny little phones out. Yes. It seemed so ridiculous. It's almost like the Will Ferrell sketch. Yes. Also Saturday Night Live sketch. Jeffreeze. Trying to open the tiny little phone.

It is so funny. So yeah, very 2004. After Sean leaves to go to work, we get the first Warner. That's probably what this film I think is probably most famous for are the two Wonders, the one pre-outbreak and the one post-outbreak. Yeah, going to the store or going to his shop. Yeah, going to the shop. We go through the whole motion and he just goes in, gets his drink.

newspaper on the counter that says something about a mysterious outbreak, but in a very ambiguous terms. And then he hops on a bus and heads to work. And then we start seeing some elements of something may be a foul, elements in the background that he's barely noticing on his way to work. Yeah, it's funny because when I was watching that too, obviously watching this now in 2025 through a pandemic lens.

GB Shannon (16:21.585)
Like I was very reminded to like in the early days of it was like coronavirus and you know, you'd hear it on the TV or see it a headline. And I kept thinking like, this seems like the first act of a horror film because you're kind of paying attention. You're not. And so watching this was like, that's exactly what it felt like. Just like, all of a sudden everything's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, is this going to be a thing? I'm not sure this is to be a thing. And then all of a sudden it was a thing. Very, very a thing.

There's a great book on the making of Shaun of the Dead called You've Got Red on You. Of course, that's what it's called. Edgar Wright says that sort of the origin of Shaun being oblivious to a zombie outbreak was he totally missed that the, is it foot and mouth disease? Hand, foot and mouth disease, yeah. In UK in 2001. He hadn't watched television in a couple of weeks and hadn't read a newspaper and didn't even know they had an epidemic going on. And he said he turned on the television one day and it was a bunch of footage of

of cattle being set on fire. He's like, did I just miss? So that's why he wrote it in that like he and Ed have no clue that there's a zombie outbreak. Let's see, after that, we get to see Sean's workplace where he's a very Circuit City, Best Buy type of electronic salesman selling television and cable packages. Right away, we get to see him mocked by his teenage coworker. He gets a phone call while Sean's giving his speech, and that phone call is the one where he tells a friend, no, my Wee Dealers doesn't have anything.

God, I cannot believe it took me so many viewings to finally catch that. Yeah, I didn't either. And the name of the electronics store? Foray Electronics? It is Foray Electronics. You're absolutely right. Shout out to Ken Foray. And now that we're talking shout outs, the first thing he says is we're all going to have to pitch in because Ash has called in sick. Ash, yes. yeah. Bruce Campbell. Yeah. There was one more horror movie shout out in that one or when Sean walks to the shop.

there's a pizza place right next door called Bub's Pizza. And Bub was the military zombie in George Romero's Day of the Dead. Stop. Just little horror Easter eggs, especially to Romero and Sam Raimi throughout the film. For me, there was like a lot of sort of like the sentiment of the birds in there, if that kind of makes sense. just felt like sort of like this mundane chaos as, you know, kind of people ignore the danger, right?

GB Shannon (18:46.926)
the birds and also the 70s version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where it sort of is two inspirations for slowly letting the audience know something is afoot in the background. Right, there are half the times where you wanna go back and you're just like, don't pay attention to them, just watch the background the whole time. Just watch the background the whole time. You'll get so much, it's really cool. So while Shroud's at work, we get to see a visit by his stepfather, played by Bill Knight.

I'm obsessed with him. I feel like he always plays that same character and he's so good at it. I cannot look at him without singing, Christmas is all around you. I mean, just can't. Like, it's so stupid. Absolutely phenomenal in how low key he plays a British stepfather in this movie. Yes. Dead from the minute he walks onto the screen. Seriously, his back is turned when he's in the store.

and he just looks like a zombie from Dave fucking 1. Yeah, the spin around is so good. I would say they, and they do really kind of lay that on thick before actual zombies show up. It's waking up hungover and stumbling and it's, you all these things. The jump scares, which me as someone that really doesn't watch horror movies and is terrified of zombies, I'm like.

Cut it with the jump scares. Save it for the zombies. They're done so well though. I mean, I think that's a huge theme of this film, right? You know, humanity as zombies and the living dead and everyday apocalypse. mean, the dead are- Oozing. Yeah, it's oozing. So yeah, I love that sort of core theme throughout the film. While he's still at work, he gets a call from Liz and Liz asks, know, have you made the dinner reservation? And he's only-

half paying attention because his 17 year old coworker is staring him down and so he doesn't want to look too engaged so he's like, huh, yep. And so he doesn't even hear her ask, have you made reservations? He has not made reservations. But now, I don't know why, not that I really talk to people on the phone a lot, but now every time I talk to people on the phone I wanna hang up and go bye bye bye bye, okay bye bye, bye bye bye. I found that so charming. It's so charming, every time she calls him or the message is she's all right, bye bye.

GB Shannon (21:02.138)
Bye, Bye, bye, Sean, bye. It's just so cute. I loved it. Sean leaves work and he buys flowers for his mom. More strange things happening in the background that he's starting to notice, but something always pulls him away. I can't remember if it's here that he runs into Yvonne. Yeah, because remember she hugs him and squishes the flowers. yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And all of the stuff going on in the background with the guy completely collapsed in his car.

and the ambulance, and they're basically yelling at each other to have to talk, but still are completely oblivious to the background around them. It's really brilliant. Yvonne, an old friend played by Jessica Hines, who was also from Spaced and was the co-creator of Spaced, co-writer of Spaced. wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, so that was the first of her three appearances in the movie. know, reading that book, was sort of, I think she was hoping that she would get Liz's part.

Yeah, so they kind of talked about it a little bit, is... Ouch. She got a juicy part. She got a juicy part. got to play... Okay, sure. Her hair looked cool. Her hair and her costuming was better and her makeup was better. Such a juicy role you don't even know when she enters the film. Yes.

Love it. So Sean gets back to the apartment frantically tries to book a reservation at restaurant fails. And then something I have done ever since 2004, when I get off the phone from a frustrating phone call back when phones were phones, I would bite the phone. I, it became a thing where it was just instinct. would frantically angrily bite that phone and hurt my teeth. Cause it was just a, such a funny bit.

He suggests the Winchester because that's all he can think of is the Winchester. And immediately he heads to her place. They let him in and Liz is angry and Liz, Liz finally says, it's over. needs more. So it's over. Door slams in his face, holding his mom's flowers, turns around, walks out into the rain. Then we cut to the Winchester and he and Ed are getting toe up and shot with tears in his eyes the entire scene.

GB Shannon (23:26.042)
playing sad music. This is where we are introduced to so many of the fun regulars in the Winchester, which is really fun. So. Yeah, they really do a good job of making people look like absolute freaks in this. Yes. Yes, Savannah, the owner of that convenience store is the creepiest looking. He looks dead.

I'm like, how did they cast all of these people that seriously look like they are knocking on death's door in this really, but not even like a, but really creepy looking like people. it's like, like they could be a zombie even before any of zombie stuff happens. And so yeah, they're so distinctive looking and weird looking and unsettling that it's even better payoff when they do become zombies. And it's like, whoa, that's the whole package of terror. Right. This is great. At this Winchester scene is probably my favorite callback.

One of my favorite callbacks in the movie, it's when we first see the exterior of the Winchester, there's a couple making out in the corner to the right. And then when they come out drunk, singing white lines. That same couple is in the corner, looks like they're still making out. And then as they walk out of frame, we see the guy's head fall off. She's a nod his throat and his head's barely hanging. That's one of my favorites.

They don't even rack focus to it. Like you just see it, you know, it's like you just kind of see a plop off in the background and it's just so subtle and perfect. Yeah, I love that moment. So many of the shots had to work out so perfectly with them parted a certain way so that you could see what was happening behind them. I mean, I just think about like the blocking and like, you know, the how many times they probably had to shoot certain scenes to make sure that they're like,

shit, you're blocking it, you're blocking it that time. Y'all gotta make sure you're right in these spots. And it's not even like a mark, right? Like, this is not my ex and this is not your ex. They're fucking walking, you know I mean? And you just have, you know, they have to shoot it so perfectly that you see all of that in the background. I would fail as an actor. I would get cast and they would be like, we have to fire her. She's not figuring it out. We gotta let her go. Yeah, I kind of wonder, because I mean, obviously it works as a filmmaking device so well, but I almost wonder too, if it was just like a function of budget as well.

GB Shannon (25:41.418)
It's just like, let's do all these tracking shots. Let's get a lot of information into this one shot and we got to nail it once. And that's five scenes we don't have to share it otherwise. think this is what makes Edgar Wright so special because he is a great technical director. He, man, he can plan out these unique shots. The movie is filled with them, but at the same time, he can direct comedy.

So it's like he's got this really technical part of his brain, but he also, understands comedy. It's just like Scott Pilgrim versus the world. Fucking great technical film with a bunch of cool shots, but really funny. It's still, it's one of my favorite movies. He's just, he's a unicorn in that sense. And that he is a horn that he had removed when he was eight, other than multiple reasons he's a unicorn. They go back to.

They're flat, continue drinking. Originally, I think it was in one of the drafts of script that Simon Pegg's character used to be a DJ. And so they're spinning records in the living room and still drinking late at night. His dancing, Ed's dancing is so good. And this is where his I Got Wood t-shirt really comes in handy. I mean, it's like the stupidest t-shirt. looks like such an idiot and it's my favorite. Sean has a little hat to the side. Like, it's so stupid. I love it.

Did you guys have an ed or maybe still have an ed in your life? This fuck up friend that brings you joy just because they're so funny. But everyone's like, why do you fucking hang around with that person? Did you have one of those? Because I did. I don't try to think. I know I had to. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say on this podcast part. You can say yes or no. His name is Bart Shannon. Let me tell you. God damn it. God damn it. That's me. I knew it.

No, I used to have one and he was the life of everybody's party, but he was a thief, he was a crook, he was dishonest, he was all of that. He did not wanna work an honest day in his life, but he was so fucking entertaining. Yeah, I had a friend like that in high school. Everybody loved her, she was awesome, she was really funny, we loved having her around, but we were like, we're kinda sick of driving you around everywhere and letting you borrow every single piece of our clothing. Like, could you just?

GB Shannon (28:00.962)
She's, don't know, reciprocate and gosh, she just didn't want to work ever. I don't think she ever really held like a real job. Never underestimate the power being a good fucking hang. Yeah. It's the moral of that story. Don't work a day in your life. Just be fun as shit at parties. they all burn out fast. Yeah. Yeah. There's that. Yeah. So then.

Their roommate Pete comes down because they're playing music in the middle of the night and he's yelling at them. We find out that Pete's been bitten by some crack head on the street. And again, our main characters don't know anything about what's going on. So it's just a bite by a crack head. But while he's yelling at Ed, he says the line, why don't you go live in the shed? Which becomes a callback later in the film. One of many. But yeah, so Pete's been bitten. That's not good.

Sean staggers to the kitchen, writes on the refrigerator, the sign on the refrigerator to basically get his life together. The list is go round mom's, get Liz back, sort life out. And he sits down in a chair and then we see a quick cut from nighttime to daylight. He's slept in that same position, the same chair. He wakes up and he goes into the living room and Ed's already playing video games. And so he says, can I get you anything from the shop? And Ed says a Cornetto.

Right. Which Edgar Wright has said the reason he wrote that in was because that used to be his own hangover cure, where eating Cornettos. So ice cream, which to me sounds disgusting to eat ice cream with a hangover. Mine was always greasy bacon and egg. Yeah, for sure. Give me some greasy carbs. Not dessert. Yeah. That's where we see the post outbreak warner, the matching shot to the first one. So he walks in the shop, goes past- It's a Diet Coke.

Bub's pizza gets a diet Coke. guess he's the previously I think it was a Coke. He's so he does a little switch. He does a little switch into the diet Coke slips on some blood. Part of his growth. Part of him getting his life back together. Yeah. Diet Coke to Coke. different choices. Yeah. Ignoring the bloody handprints on the refrigerator door, closing the door immediately slipping in blood, not even looking down. know, it's hilarious. I love that we don't see the blood on the floor. Love it. Like you don't see it.

GB Shannon (30:19.608)
You just know like, okay, yep, that's just what's happening. He's not even thinking about it. Yeah. Great comedic slip too. It is. So he comes back with his Diet Coke and his Cornetto and sits down on the couch. this is one of those eerie scenes for no reason, just to build that tension. Ed says, there's a girl in the garden, but he says it from almost like he's wrapped in the shears of the Of the curtain. Like he's a ghost. Yeah.

So he says, there's a girl in the garden. then Sean, they come to the window and look outside and sure enough, there is Mary, our first main zombie of the movie. And Mary makes an appearance in the opening credits as well, working at a supermarket. a half a zombie. And I have to add too, but you know, I hadn't seen this movie in so long before rewatching it. like, so watching it and up to this point, up to the girl in the garden, I'm like, I don't really remember that.

The minute my memory picks up, it's the girl in the garden because that's when the horror begins. And I'm like, now I remember everything. so, but yeah, this is such a good first little taste into like what this apocalypse is all about. I think it's great. This sequence is about as close to perfect, I think, as you're gonna get. They go outside and...

My first thought when he says, is so, I would think he would say, she's like, she's so high. And he goes, she's so drunk. doesn't look like a drunk person in the least. So she turns around and starts coming towards them and eventually attacks Sean, knocking him to the ground. So Ed goes and gets his disposable camera. Starts taking photos.

GB Shannon (32:06.147)
And so he's fighting, you're trying to fight her off, but also laughing because he thinks he's a drunk girl that's just trying to make out with him, I Ed's taking photos. And I love it later in the scene at some point where something is serious and he just hears like the creaking of him. You should have another photo. Sean's like, stop. Oh, the timing of that. I hope that was totally ad-libbed. Yeah, seriously. It was perfect. Crank.

Crank. Well, first they go inside and then a zombie comes through the front door because the door is left open because Ed always leaves the front door open. They fight off the one arm. Groom? Groom? Zombie groom? Yeah. Who wasn't actually an actor with only one arm. Ah, no. He's in the first one-er in the background down the aisle when Simon Pegg grabs a drink. He's at the very end of the aisle.

So they dispose of him, go back outside. After trying to call the police, they get no answer. And so they go back outside trying to figure out what they're gonna do with Mary. And Mary is joined by the big guy, another big zombie. And they start throwing collective items at their heads because they've heard on the news while they were inside that only way to kill the zombies is to remove the head. Or destroy the brain.

She's already fallen backwards onto a pipe that went through her and she's gotten up. So they're pretty sure she's a zombie. Which is another amazing shot as she's standing up with the two of them in the center of the hole in her body in frame. So perfect. VFH shot. It of reminded me of, you remember Death Becomes Her? Yes. Oh my God, stop. 100%. Yeah. So iconic scene from the battling of Mary and the big guy. They eventually go get Sean's record collection and start trying to fight off the zombies by throwing, which is...

So fucking stupid and so fucking funny at the same time. it's exactly what they would do. It's like, wait, what did you just so that was the original pressing of Blue Monday. my God. It's not that dire straights. Yes, but not the Blue Monday. The Batman soundtrack. The best part is they're just flipping through looking, having this discussion, and the zombies are going so fucking slow that there's still nowhere near them after they've gone through an entire sheath of

GB Shannon (34:25.091)
just mounds of records trying to decide what they're gonna throw. That is one thing I do notice throughout the movie, obviously it's because it's a movie, but I'm like, it seems like the one thing that holds zombies off best is just arguing. You can hold them off for just like 20 minutes by arguing, but the minute you stop arguing, there they are, they're on you. If you don't give them the proper attention they deserve, they don't know what to do. so just waiting for their moment to butt in, they don't wanna interrupt, but you know.

They're British zombies. I kind of have the same trait. If I'm not getting enough attention, I'm just sort of staggering around in circle, not knowing what to do. Apparently, too, I read that an interviewer asked why they chose to have the zombies moving so slowly throughout it instead of like having running zombies. And Simon Pegg apparently replied, because death is not an energy drink. I don't like a fast zombie. don't like a fast zombie. bet you don't, Savannah. It's just, it ain't natural.

It ain't natural. I have softened on the debate as I've gotten older. When I first saw, I guess it was Dawn of the Dead, the remake with Fast Zombies, or maybe it was, I can't remember which one I saw, they were made in the same year, that or 21 Days Later. It's 21 Days Later that had the Fast ones. Yeah, so they were both, they were fast in both, but I was kind of offended at first, but now I'm not because those are outbreak zombies. They've got a virus and they're the scariest shit that these things come at you super fast. it's like The Last of Us zombies.

Savannah, I you haven't watched that show. Absolutely not. Nope. I mean, y'all, this is like the only zombie movie that I can make myself watch. I mean, literally. And it's just because it is that perfect blend of horror and comedy. It makes the medicine go down. Let's see. They're realizing the records aren't working. Big surprise. They're not being able to break these zombie skulls with vinyl. Sean busts into the tool shed and grabs a cricket bat and a shovel.

And Ed asks, which one do you want? And Sean, give him a hug. says he wants the girl. Yeah. He's like the girl. But I love how they switch sides. Like, okay, we hear you come at it from the other side. they dispose of them. Pummel. Like just pummel. And I love that shot goes on for so long.

GB Shannon (36:46.275)
and you just hear the squishing of their brains. And it's like, and I love it too, because it just goes on too long. This is their first kill. Yeah, exactly. And you don't see the victims ever. just, they're just beating the shit out of them. To paraphrase the Beastie Boys, they rock a house party at the drop of a hat to beat a body down with a wooden cricket bat. That's what they do. All right, so they're back inside. They realize that things are a foul and...

So they're watching television now and a great shot where they're flipping through the television and flipping all these different channels and each piece of dialogue creates a narration of what's actually happening. So they go to a music channel and they say something and then it says what's happening that there's a zombie outbreak. And then the nature channel where they're like, Aiden alive, alive. So this is when Sean realizes he needs to check on his mom. So he calls his mom.

and she says that Philip's been bitten. So he's panicked. She's like, stay there, mom, don't leave the house and we'll come over a very funny way. They're like, mom, are you okay? And she's like, everything's fine. And he's like, well, Philip's been bitten. He's like, oh, okay. And then Ed comes over and is like, what happened? Was she bitten? No, Philip was. Oh, okay. We don't care about Philip. Both of them are very relaxed about Philip being bitten.

And then we get another George Romero shout out when they're hanging up the phone, Ed yells, we're coming to get you Barbara. Yes, yes, I caught that one. They decide to take Pete's car. They realize Pete is probably still in the house. And so they call up to the stairs to ask if Pete is there. But they're very timid in this because what they've heard on the news is if you know somebody who's been bitten.

That's how this can happen. And all of a sudden they both just like take a shot upstairs. They both look upstairs like, shit, Pete's been bitten. You know, and they're like at the bottom of the stairs, Pete, Pete. Ed says, hey, Prick. Hey, Prick. And he doesn't answer. since answer, they're like, he's He's not home. Okay. That was real, scientific shit right there on how to deduce if someone's not home. I said that with Prick, he's not here. So I'm gonna go upstairs and get ready before we go. Right.

GB Shannon (38:58.147)
You guys upstairs and that's when we get our second mirror shot of Pete, which he closed the mirror and then you see the shadow behind the shower curtain. Which is very psycho. Very psycho. Creepy scene. Uh, pulls back the shower curtain and there's Pete dead standing in the shower. There is an evil dead two reference here. Oh, he says to Pete as he's backing away towards the door, as Pete's coming to him, he says, we're going to, my mom's house. Maybe you could join us. Join us. us. us.

Join us. I also like that you don't get a naked zombie very often. It's a weird moment to make the change. I love that though because then they have to just, I mean, he's naked when he shows up as a zombie throughout. And nobody seems to be bothered by it. Nobody's not trying to look at him because he's naked. They just are disturbed because he's a zombie. Even when he shows up later, he's just,

I mean, you never see him obviously from the waist down. There's always something strategically placed in front of the genitalia. Uh-huh. Right. Here is where a plan is concocted. Another just amazing, famous scene from this movie where Sean pitches the plan to go to mom's house, kill Philip, grab Liz, have a spot of tea, wait till it all blows over. They just keep adapting and keep adapting. And then eventually it's go to mom's house, kill Philip, grab Liz, head to the Winchester, wait till it all blows over.

So once the plan is finally perfected, Sean, Simon Pegg says, how's that for a slice of fried gold? That's so good. So good. Which Nick Frost's Instagram account is fried gold. Oh, I love that. Nick Frost. Follow Nick Frost. It's fried gold. So they take Pete's car and they head to mom's house to try to save mom and murder Philip. Sorry, Philip. There's also a

fantastic line. So he's in the kitchen. He's basically asking his mom if she loves Philip and you get it. You get a sense of what they like they've had issues since they were young. And he's trying to get his mom to accept the fact that he's going to kill Philip. And then he says, what if I told you that that he touched me? And she she's making sandwiches and she puts the knife down and turns around and looks at him. He's like, that that that is not true.

GB Shannon (41:24.515)
That's not my favorite lesson. was a lie. was a lie. Can we talk for a second about how amazing this mom character is? She's so like gloriously oblivious and just sweetie pie. know, she's so sweet. I'll make some sandwiches. I mean, she's just this quintessential kind. I didn't want to be a bother. know, Philip's been bitten. I'm fine.

mean, you know. Doesn't she say like that the zombies are, they were a bit bitey. They were a bit Yeah, they were a bitey. Yeah, it's, yeah. mean, she's just so precious, like, which makes what happens later so fucking awful, you know, but she is really precious. But in this moment, Bart, she straight up turns around and tells Sean what's what. yeah. yeah. It's a cool moment for Bob. We're coming to get you, Barbara. Sean goes into the living room where

Philip is sitting in a chair in perfect British light tote is really not fazed by this bite that he has. This is where the plan starts to fall apart because Sean's obviously not gonna kill Philip because Philip is not a zombie. He's talking and he doesn't have the chutzpah to whack him in the head. So he coerces his mom and Philip to leave and they go outside.

to take separate cars to get to a more safe location. And that's when we find out that Ed's character has in a very short amount of time totally crashed their peace car. Yeah, which because he wants to take the Jag, let's be real. You know he just straight up wrecked that thing because he's like, no, look what happened. We have to take Phillip's amazing fucking Jaguar. Is this also a good time to talk about the fact that Ed has this really awkward crush on Barbara? I don't think I caught that.

When he's on the phone earlier, he's like, well, Liz rang and wanted to know if you wanted to eat out. And then your mom rang and wanted to know if I wanted to eat her out. then he's like, what? You know what I mean? Like he says all of these things. Like he's like, you know, Barbara comes out during this scene. He's like, oh, Ed, you've really grown. And he's like, you have no idea, Barbara. You know, like all of these lines. I'm like, it's Barbara. I guess I was getting more of a.

GB Shannon (43:42.851)
a Sean Connery on Celebrity Jeopardy like, oh, that's not what your mother said last night, Trebek. Like that's kind of how I was hearing it more. you know, but yeah, because it is a smidge like stop it, Ed, Ed. Right. That is a bridge too far. To be fair, as being a dude growing up around dudes, the running joke of having sex with your friend's mom is an ongoing joke. Yeah. Yeah. Always hilarious. Always funny.

I can remember when my mom found out about it. She thought it was so funny. I'm sure she did. So funny. So at this point, there's a group of zombies that get the jump on them as they're all arguing over the car situation. One of them bites Philip again, this time a giant chunk out of his neck. So now they all have to take the Jag, which was Ed's goal in the first place. So they all pile into the Jag wire. And Ed puts in his tape at full volume as well.

Phillips in the back saying, could you turn this off? Could you turn this off? And then Barbara goes, it is a bit loud, can turn it off? He goes, okay, Barbara. And just turns it off immediately when she asks. So they're on their way to Liz's apartment to try to grab Liz to take her back to the Winchester with them. This is the scene, that callback scene where he does climb up through the window, because they want to let him in. So he climbs up through the window, comes inside, basically says, this is not about you or I, this is about survival. And so she believes it and...

David, the asshole friend who's got a crush on Liz, doesn't want to go anywhere, but then he finds out Liz is going to go, so he's like, okay, I'll go. So they all go downstairs to pile into the Jaguar, into a single car. What are we looking at here? One, two, three, four, seven people at a Jaguar, and one of them is dying. Yeah, one of them's about to be a zombie, like any minute now. Yeah, that's the one thing, like moments like that, I'm just screaming at them like, no!

Push him out of the car, what are you doing? You don't even have enough room for everybody anyway, like yeah. But it allows for our first real moment of sincerity and it allows for our first kind of introduction to Sean possibly getting it, right? Growing up, understanding Simon Pegg's acting in this scene is really wonderful. yeah, and Bill Nye, I read that he was allowed the flexibility in this scene to say it how he wanted to say it.

GB Shannon (46:10.509)
about being a stepfather and how hard it is to be a parent. And so he said that really touching scene about, know, I just wanted to, I wanted to be that person for you and I knew you had it in you and we're seeing it instead of the two dimensional stepdad, we're seeing a little layer to it and a little fall. And Sean and Phillip are right next to each other in the car in these close quarters. And so the closeness of it is also the closeness of it, right? I mean, they are.

but right beside each other's faces. So he starts trying to get Ed to pull over and Ed's driving like a maniac and won't listen. And then he says, because Philip's gone. And then they stopped the car and Sean's mom says, no, he's not. He's right there. And they great shot. They all turn and he's, he's alive. He's a zombie. He then push him out of the car and you do that. Yeah. This is one of those.

extreme bonehead, like, you know, in a script, if they did 10 versions of the script, I mean, how many versions did they go, no, this is fine. No, this is fine. Yeah. So they all panic, get out of the car and leave the zombie in the Jaguar while they stand in the streets surrounded by zombies. only means of transportation. And they did, instead of just opening the door and letting him lumber out, they decide to just scrap it and go on foot.

How many versions do they go, are we still good with that? Yeah, that it makes total sense to me. That's what I would do. That's what I would do. Back to like early in the movie when they were trying to leave their apartment, when Ed calls them zombies and Sean goes, don't say that. he goes, what? The Zed word. It makes it too real to say the Zed word. Now they're on foot.

going through backyards and gardens, trying to find their way to the Winchester. And they pass the mirror group. They're doppelgangers. That's where they run into Jessica Hines and her group of doppelgangers, which, before we discuss this, do you remember Bizarro Jerry, the episode of Seinfeld, where they all run into the street, they're doppelgangers? Yes. The only thing I remember is Kramer's doppelgangers name was Feldman.

GB Shannon (48:25.357)
Which is a very good Kramer type name. Yes. But they all do introductions. all see each other. There's Declan is Martin Freeman, best known from the British office and The Hobbit. Reese Shearsmith is the Mark Doppelganger or the counterpart to David, I'm sorry. And he's known from League of Gentlemen. What's all the shouting? There'll be no shouting here. Julia Deacon is Yvonne's mum, who is the counterpart to...

to Sean's mom, she was the landlord in Spaced, so yet another Spaced counterpart. Maggie, which is Tasman Gregg, counterpart to Diane, she was in Black Books. And then Oliver is Matt Lucas from Little Britain, who is Ed's counterpart. my God, it's He was wearing a T-shirt, which was one of the original shirts they were going to use for Ed's character before they went with God Wood. And I'll just keep saying it, you can just watch it. They found it too offensive to use as his main shirt for the entire movie.

So the two characters from the British office that created Jim and Pam on the American office. and Tim. Tim and Don became Jim and Pam. Yeah, that is like a who's who of British comedy. Yeah. I was like, there like 10 of you actors in this entire country? They all file by each other and they say hello. they hello to eat their counterpart, which is really interesting. This little scene too has another bit like my favorite bit of physical comedy where it's like.

You know, they see all these fences that they have to get over to get to the Winchester. And this is where Sean tries to be a bad ass. Cause you know, David's like, how are we going to get over that? He's like, check this out. Just does the perfect like falls over the fence. It like knocks over. It's brilliant. Love it. Love it. Love it. It just crumbles underneath him. So good. They recreated the exact same scene in hot fuzz. They did. really? Okay. Love it.

He was gonna hurtle the fence instead the fence just falls with him. It's just a little look that little shit eating look he gives beforehand that just is, it's so perfect. That once they go through the backyards, this gets to one of my favorite scenes in the movie, performance one. Yes. So, okay. He says he needs to see if the coast is clear. And so Simon Pegg walks up a child's

GB Shannon (50:49.389)
set of stairs to a slide in tiny baby steps. Grabbing onto the side. that so well. little hop hop hop hop hop gets up, then hop hop hop comes back down and Liz says, is it clear? And he says, no. She says, how many? And he says, And then they pan up. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds.

all in front of the Winchester. What's funny is that apparently they would have been just behind the fence. Yeah. Exactly. This is a fun part too. I like this part too, where they decided to go back to the theater kids. The theater kids will love this scene. Yeah. Where they go back and they try to learn how to be a zombie. They mentioned earlier, Sean says something about, I never called Diane a failed actress. And so she's the actress who gets to teach them how to be zombies.

Which is so good. I made the note, I love her note to them that is like, just look vacant and sad like a drunk who's lost a bet. That's what zombies look like. And I'm like, that's pretty damn close. I like that. That actor who plays the zombie, I can't remember his name, he's so funny. And of course he's tacked up. He's still alive, but he's tacked up and can't move. So that's how they're able to study.

how to be a zombie because he's alive, but he's not gonna hurt them because he can't get to them. As I guess he's impaled to the tree. Well, because he tries to knock him out with like the tether ball thing. Like, no, don't knock him with the ball. And I like hit him with this huge metal pole. Stupid. Yeah, I love when they reveal how they're like each of them, they go out into the zombie apocalypse acting like zombies. And my favorite is, y'all notice how the mom acts like a zombie?

No, she's doing this, Delta.

GB Shannon (52:47.499)
Like a ghost. Right, right. She's literally just Barbara and she's going

GB Shannon (52:55.501)
So they do the zombie walk to the Winchester. They make it to the Winchester and then the door is locked. No one answers the door. David throws the trash can through the window. idea. Good job, David. Thanks, Dave. Some of his best work. so Sean says, well, that we can't go in now because they'll follow us in. So he says, I'm going to lead them away.

So they'll follow me, then you guys go in. So Sean runs through the crowd, a very brave move. He just runs straight into a crowd of zombies and they begin to follow him away from the door so the group is able to go inside the Winchester. Somebody's got an arc happening here. Exactly. Somebody's grown a bit. And you know what? His lady's noticing. I think she is. is. She sure is. Or to soften a little bit. Zombie outbreak doesn't mean you can't appreciate a man's growth. That's right. That's right.

Way to go, Liz. Way to go, Liz. Bye, bye. Bye, bye, Lee. Okay, bye, Sean. Bye. So yes, so Sean runs off. They get inside and they start trying to figure out a plan, immediately start arguing that Sean is not going to come back because he's never honored his word in the first place, which I don't think it's really up to him at this point. If like, if he doesn't come back, it's Right, because he's dead. Yeah, because he's He's not ditching y'all. Yeah, exactly. He's had his face eaten off, exactly. So then-

David starts challenging all of Sean's decisions. Liz starts kind of questioning Sean's priorities. Ed saying, we got everything we need here. We got booze, we've got pork snacks. David starts saying, well, you know, this is not enough. He's ridiculous, starts throwing the snacks around. He throws one snack in the air and then it's grabbed out of the air by Sean, who has returned. The hero's back. Not only has he returned, but he can catch shit like a boss now. Like a boss. think that's signaling to the audience like, oh.

This is no longer a little Wee Sean from earlier in the movie. Now he's a certified badass. So at this time, they're trying to figure out how to turn on the electricity. And Sean says, we use the breaker. It's in the back. And he goes to the back to flip the breakers on and flips on the gray shot of just flipping on breakers and lights turning on. And then there's a light on the back door and all the zombies have followed him. And they're all at the back door. And he knows eventually they're going to get in. So he closes the door behind him.

GB Shannon (55:13.525)
And then as he closes the door, we see that there's another zombie in the building as well. So maybe they're not in the safest place that they thought they would be with a broken window and zombies about to come into the back. Sean. He tried. He tried. did try. think, in fact, that is the conversation they have later. they have later. Yeah. Another iconic scene is when the owner of the Winchester's undead version of himself attacks the group inside the Winchester.

They're fighting him off. The jukebox just starts on random. Because that's another call back to earlier. The jukebox just starts on random. is Queen's Don't Stop Me Now, which Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright had written Brian May for permission to use the song because they had already choreographed the song. So they're like, no, we have to have that song because we've already choreographed to that song. So he gave them permission. So that's where half of the budget went. of the budget went, yeah. No kidding. And y'all tell me, because I'm...

probably just stop thinking of scenes like this, but this feels like almost what a really early, because this kind of technique is used a lot now. It's like, let's like, the tone of this song does not match the tone of what the action is. Had that been done a lot before this movie? It had not a lot. The first movie I ever saw that did it was Halloween II at the end credits, the song is Mr. Sandman. So it's like they're all burned, the building's burning.

Mike, you think Michael's burning to death and Mr. Sandman. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I remember even as a kid just thinking, wow, that works so well because it doesn't match the scene. it had happened. I guess to this degree of like the choreography and it's that, because I feel like it's used so much more now, but I'm like, I wonder if they kind of were the modern precursor to that device being used a lot now in trailers and things like that.

because they're literally hitting in time to the music. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You know what mean? Everything is beautifully choreographed. And I love it. Again, as somebody that is terrified of zombie movies, especially really big scenes like that, it just took the edge off. You can enjoy it. It's just a very well done scene. It's a moment for non-horror fans to enjoy that choreography, the funny, and then right before things get dark again.

GB Shannon (57:33.471)
Right. They dispose of the owner of the Winchester by smashing his head through the jukebox, which kills the queen, to reference Simon Pegg's line. When he was trying to get him to turn off the jukebox, he said, kill the queen. So he's dead. His wife comes through the back door as well, and she gets disposed of. So then, once that happens, then they're allowed space to get dramatic with the mom. So Barbara's been hiding something for about 20 minutes of screen time, and we all kind of...

No, it's probably what's going on. So Barbara's been bitten. Liz grabs Sean, brings him over, and he finds out that his mom's been bitten. For a movie that's a comedy with a lot of zombies in it, it's a very sad scene. So his mom has been bitten. And immediately, David, who says he's a pacifist and that's why he won't use the Winchester, which they have earlier discovered does work and will not shoot zombies because he's a pacifist.

immediately finds a way to not be a pacifist and points the gun at Sean's mother saying that she is going to turn and wants to shoot Sean's mom. Not surprisingly, everyone is very upset about it. And he said, you know what's going to happen? She's going to turn. We have to do this. And there is a great scene. It's a great, it's a great bunch of shots where Sean smashes a bottle and holds it up to David.

Nick Frost smashes the bottle, holds it up to David. And then Lucy Davis' character, I can't remember what she says, like, this is not fair or something. So they hand her a broken bottle so she can hold it to Sean. And there's a hard pan back and forth from behind David. as each, like Simon Pegg says a line and then Nick Frost says a line, it just builds so much tension. Sean takes the gun. So Sean's got to kill his own mom. So they're having this conversation and she raises up in the frame behind them. So we have to address it like now.

So he has to shoot his own mother. And not something you see a lot of in a comedy film. I mean, seriously, it's a comedy. And you don't even really think twice about that. By the time when they become a zombie, you're scared of them. Like, it's not like you're like, that's too bad. It's like, OK, no, she's going to kill us. It's quick. It's rip the bandaid off. I read this online that after Barbara dies and we go through that scene, which I know we haven't finished talking about, but...

GB Shannon (59:51.958)
There were jokes and they were so emotional on set. Like Simon Pegg really cried and Nick Frost really cried when they did that scene that the jokes didn't feel right anymore. And so they just were on set, just scratched the jokes and said, if they need this time to breathe, the audience is gonna need this time to breathe too. And so they just nixed all those Smart, very smart. And it is smart too, cause it never, it's seamless. Like you do feel, you know, when it does get heavy, but it never feels like, that was.

weird and now we're shifting right out of this. Like it is, it's pretty seamless. It's a testament to them that I didn't really notice. It is. I mean, even after he has to kill her, but there's such a sharp turn into the next piece of action that you, as a viewer, you have to move on to. They do a good job. Like it's basically, it's relying on that snap fear of like, she's a zombie, bam.

head explodes, and now we're on. And they do the same thing with Philip, right? That sincere moment, but they immediately have to switch into survival because he's going to kill them in the car with the child locks. Yeah. So yeah, Barbara reanimates as a zombie. is forced to kill his mom with a rifle. I'd forgotten what comes next. When Sean drops the rifle to the floor, I thought, why did he drop it to the floor? And then the reason he dropped it to the floor, so David could pick their rifle up and point it at Sean, pulls the trigger, was going to try to kill Sean, and there's no shell in the chamber.

So he was gonna straight up gonna try to murder the guy right there, right then and there the pacifist was. now we fully know how to feel about David. Right. We fully get it then. Right. luckily we don't have to deal with his ass for very long. So that's great. And we've all known a David or two as well. We've all known an Ed, but we've all known multiple Davids. David, he decides he's just gonna leave. He backs up against the windows. The zombies break through the windows and pull him out into the horde.

and rip him apart. I did not remember that part of the movie whatsoever. I was like, holy shit. I didn't either. I did not remember that his death was so gory. I mean, I remember sitting there with Jackson watching it and he goes, Jesus. Because it's like, it's really the first time somebody dies that feels like a horror film moment. mean, they pull his insides out and fight over them.

GB Shannon (01:02:09.94)
and they're hanging It's a next level. It is next level and the only reason you're not mad about it is because it's David and now we hate him. A total dick. He's a total dick. This shot was totally pulled from George Romero's Day of the Dead where the biggest prick in that movie gets killed the exact same way and they rip out his entrails and they pull out his entrails while he's still dying looking at them eating his entrails. And they pull his legs off. Yes.

Lucy Davis opens the doors and says, I'm coming for you, David, and takes his legs and is fighting off the zombies with his severed legs. Yeah. And go straight into the, into the zombie hoard. She didn't seem like she cared for him that much for the last hour, but now she's going to try to save his dead body. That's the only part where I'm like, okay.

that you clearly just needed to get rid of her. And that was just like, okay, she goes out to go out and find him, okay? I I think if you go back and you watch it, my opinion is that Lucy was in love with David. And that's why whenever he mentions it, like when they're in her apartment, Sean says to David at the beginning of the movie, well, why don't you just admit it like you're in love with her or whatever, or you just wanna be with Liz and leaves. And then he's like, well, I don't know what he meant by that. And he looks at Lucy, and if you notice Lucy is just kind of looking down and over.

See, I thought that they were together. I think they are because again, they mention it twice. That's the first scene. The second scene, this is in the bar and Sean says, come on, everybody knows you had a thing for Liz. And Diane says, I know you did. And when she dumped you, I was there. To pick up the pieces. But see, I did not think they were a couple. you didn't. I just always assumed they were. I don't think they're, I personally don't think they're a couple in the movie.

She knows David is in love with Liz and I just don't see them as as a couple in the movie I think when she says I was there to pick up the pieces it was as your friend So I think she feels about David the way David feels about Liz. I think it's a triangle. They don't hold hands. They don't They don't ever seem like a legitimate couple right? There's no physical proof. There's nothing couple There's not even a line that says they're a couple. No, they're just Liz's friends. That's right

GB Shannon (01:04:20.736)
You know, maybe I should stop assuming things, Lindsay. It gives me food for thought for the rest of my life. I assumed it, you know, I mean. Maybe like 29 year old Sean, I got a little grown up to do. Maybe so, maybe so. Let's get Edgar right on the horn. need to flesh this thing out. Something's not right here. Diane opens the doors like a schmuck. so now the entire Winchester has been breached and the zombies flood inside. Ed, Liz and Sean try to fight off the zombies and then.

Pete returns. Naked. Naked old Pete. Peter. Still naked. Yep. Still naked. Still dead. They get to jump on Ed. And who's the one who takes the first bite out of Ed? It's Pete. The man who's had animosity towards him since the beginning. And he gets the first bite. Liz and Sean jump behind the bar, eventually joined by a very bloody bitten Ed. For the first time that we find out that there's a basement. Yeah.

The shells of the rifle were left on the bar that they've set on fire with a Molotov cocktail, and now the bullets are burning. How can we sleep when the bullets are burning? And so the bullets start going off, shooting various places, hitting a couple of zombies, and that's when they decide to go down in the basement, which I would assume is the nine of the living dead shout out. It also kind of looks like that hole in the floor in Evil Dead. Yeah. Yeah, where the grandmother

Someone send my fruit seller with fresh souls. What does she say? What's her line? Dead by dawn, dead by dawn. by dawn. Dead by dawn. So yeah, so they go to the basement. This is the scene where, is this where Sean says, you know, like, fucking ruined it. I just wanted to do the right thing and everyone, everyone died. And this is where Liz said, you tried, you did something. You did something, yes. And what I love about that line too is that off screen,

we hear Ed say, okay, that's it, I'd like to be shot. Because it's like, they're getting all lovey-dovey. I love it. Remember this is also 2004 when you could use like the gay as like, know, right? That's a callback too. He says that earlier in the film. And then when they're actually like making their way out of the basement and he's still down there, he's like,

GB Shannon (01:06:45.994)
they realized there's only two shells left and they're talking about how they're gonna off each other. says, well, I'd rather just be ripped apart by zombies. know, you guys. So Liz and Sean are deciding, do you shoot me? And then I shoot myself. Do I shoot you? And then you shoot yourself. And then that's when there's a light. no, they were go smoke a cigarette. So like, yeah, the final flag. they decided to smoke the cigarettes that Sean had thrown away earlier and.

Liz still has them and he said, I thought I threw those away. And she said, I was desperate. So she decided to keep them and they have a cigarette. They're all three share a cigarette. And when the light up to the smokes, they see that there is an elevator control panel. And so they say goodbye to, is that where he says gay? Where he says, I love you, I love you. he's gay. But I love it. It's just like, it's all off screen. It's just Ed off screen saying these things. And the first time he says gay, it's actually him saying, well, I love Liz.

Yeah, yes, exactly. Yeah, right. Uh-huh, uh-huh. They leave Ed in the basement, take the elevator up to the first floor, and they make a break for it outside. And as they get outside, flash of bright lights, and immediately, in the midst of all of the continued zombie onslaught, the military shows up and just starts blasting zombies left and right. You know, this is, especially now, people, and where we live in history.

horror movies don't scare me, but the military showing up in fucking zombie movies scares me. Really? It does. Now, at this point in history, when the military is being sent to cities, it scares the shit out of me. Because I can watch a movie where heads get ripped off, but it's the military showing up to take control is what scares me. And I'm sitting there thinking, how do they know not to shoot Sean and Liz? That's all I was thinking about.

infrared cameras. Right. Right. way it's shot too, I mean, it's like the military shows up, they immediately, they run over zombies, which the way that that's edited, you almost think that they've hit Liz and Sean. And so, and it's just chaos and yeah, they're just firing willy-nilly and you think that this is going to be the end of the movie, just like, well everyone's dead now, cool. But no, it's like somehow they get missed and then a bond shows up.

GB Shannon (01:09:05.684)
Did they shoot at Willy Nilly? You can't see. Nilly got shot? It feels chaotic. Yeah. I was trying to make an airplane type joke, it... sorry. Buddy bailed out over Macho Grande. No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande. It's airplane two, I think. Yvonne shows up again and says, hey, they're taking us to a place that's safe. Are you the only two left? And Sean says, yeah. And she says, well, it's good that you made it. Does she still have her golf club?

Yes. Can we talk about, just cracks me up the whole time. She survived by using a golf club the entire movie and still does, still bringing that golf club. Sean never asks her if her group made it, right? I think he just assumes, right? I mean, she's just there by herself. So I don't know. There's a part of my brain assume that she was a little more put together than he was. And somehow she made it work and he didn't. they were, and they were alive.

Cause that was sort of that too. was like, seems like a weird detail since we've introduced all these other characters. Exactly. Maybe they are and maybe they're just in a safe space because when they're introduced as that sort of mirror image of each other, they look very much more put together and ready for the apocalypse than Sean's group. And like they acknowledge that they're the superior group almost with their looks. They're like, mm-hmm, hi. Yeah. Hey. Good luck.

Yeah, I say that's probably my only like weird part about this. I feel like the very end it's like they're just trying to wrap it up. It's like, okay, this is, this is now this part's going to be solved. And yeah, so it feels a little rushed to me, but you know. So yeah, right after that, there's some sort of transitional shots. And then we cut straight to Liz and Sean's apartment, which is, you know, former Pete and Sean's apartment. And now it's Liz and Sean's and she's watching television.

as they're talking about the aftermath. I think it's mentioned it's six months later. And humans doing what humans do. So now they have exploited the zombies for reality television. And cheap labor. And labor. But the thing is they're back in the grocery stores working. They're back doing their jobs that they were doing before. They're just doing them now as legit zombies instead of the living dead. Again, so believable. as far as how they present it, it's like, okay, you we're talking about how

GB Shannon (01:11:28.137)
we're dealing with these zombies, but then it's like, they go, she's flipping the tail and there's Coldplay talking about how, yeah, Regina Collins for like, zombie-made or something. You know, it's like, it's like a zombie relief effort. It's like, of course, it's like, this is just the most crass commercialization of this horribly traumatic event in human history. Exactly. And let's not just gloss over the fact that Chris Martin is in this movie. Yes, exactly. just not gloss over that. Like, that is for real Chris Martin.

He's a zombie too. He's a zombie as well, yeah. has a cane in his. couple times, Oh man, I missed that. Which I'm gonna say it now just because I won't remember it later and I forgot it earlier. When the movie was over, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg sent this movie to George Romero because they wanted his blessing for it. And so he watched it in this theater in Florida, called them and said, I loved it, it was great. And he asked them to.

and zombies in Land of the Dead, his next zombie movie. So Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright get to play their zombies in his next movie. Oh, that's amazing. That is so cool. I love that. So yeah, so here we are. Callbacks again. Callbacks aplenty. We get to see the dolly-up shot of Sean, his feet coming into frame, comes up, he yawns, he thinks he's a zombie. He comes into the living room. Liz is watching television. sits down. They plan their day. They talk about all the things they're going to do for the day.

They've made it work. I'm kudos, one, for not having crippling PTSD after all this somehow. mean, it's like, wow, they're doing good. They're doing great. The Brits recover way faster than we do. Yeah. That was another thing I thought of too, is like, know, man, if this was not a British film, it's like all the guns. We just would have had all the guns. There's one gun in this film.

And I think that's astounding. It's like, wow, we do have very different countries and nobody knows how to use it. Nobody, you know, I thought that was really interesting. We also don't know how many people like actually did not turn into zombies. The only other group we see is Yvonne and her gang. So they plan their day and then Sean says, I might pop out to the shed for a bit. The garden, the garden. He says the garden? yeah, he does say the garden. Cause it'd be too on the nose if he says the

GB Shannon (01:13:46.663)
So next shot, he's coming into the shed. You hear video game in the background. two has entered the game. Player two has entered the game. He sits down. We see Ed is chained to the wall of the shed, which is where Pete said he should be living in the first place. And Sean has kept him as his zombie buddy so he could play video games with him. Doing the exact same thing they did before. That's right. I mean, literally. And cue the second Queen song of the movie. Uh-huh. All right.

I wondered too, did they do it on purpose that Ed has the recurring thing of doing the orangutan impression? Right. And then at the end, when he's a zombie, it's basically he's just, he's the orangutan guy. Right. The orangutan is something that Nick Frost has always done. And back when they all worked together, Edgar Wright would say, Hey, do your Clyde. And he would always say, I'm not your performing monkey, which is what he says in the movie as well.

They wrote that in specifically for him knowing that he does a great Clyde impersonation. that's amazing. OK. And he's just as endearing as a zombie, isn't he? Maybe even a little bit more. A little more, maybe. Yeah. He tries to bite Sean's arm and Sean just goes like, And so he stops and starts poking at the controllers of the video again. Yeah. It almost has this like young Frankenstein kind of feel to it. Yeah. Peter Boylish. Tone wise, perfect ending. Yeah.

for what this film was to keep it light. It didn't end dark. Sure, died, but he's still gonna be that same loser friend that he always was. And that's Shaun of the Dead. Woohoo! So good. Something that we have said throughout our entire time together here today is, I need to go back and watch it. And I remember seeing this in 2004.

and I saw it a couple of years later. I saw it in the theater. I've watched it so many times. What do you think makes this film worth so many multiple viewings? What makes it so rewatchable? Why has it remained a beloved film? You know, what elements help it endure? I mean, I think at the core, it's a really good buddy comedy and just that's something that's enduring period and inherently rewatchable generally.

GB Shannon (01:16:02.131)
but also the fact that there is so much controlled chaos throughout this movie, because there's so many things going on. If you're not paying attention, you're going to miss it. so yeah, there's room to get new things every time. Yeah. I mean, we've even said today, Savannah, listening to Bart talk, we'll go, I missed that. Now I got to go back and watch it again. You know what I mean? There's so much going on. There's so many callbacks. There's so much layering. There's so many gags. There are so many references to great movies.

going back and being like, my God, look, there's Chris Martin again, or there's all of those elements, I think, that make it just so rewatchable and so worthy of sitting down again. And it's also not like one of those films that are now where you're like, well, you know, it's really good, but you got to sit down for it's three hour, you know, it's a three hour ordeal. Yeah, it's so quick. It's such an easy watch. think for me why it works and I will always recommend it. And this is a niche answer because

I'm looking at it as perspective of people who love comedies and love horror. And it's not everybody, but for those of us who just love both of those genres to death, pun intended, it's the perfect blend. All the comedy works and it's so rewatchable, the comedy of it, and all of the horror works. think Edgar Wright called it the Cornetto trilogy. called it genre films with elements. So this is a genre film with zombies.

Hot Fuzz is a genre film with a cult. World End is a genre film with aliens. Yeah, kinda, but also it's a really good zombie movie too. But for people that love comedy, love horror, and love them equally, Jesus, I just can't think of a film that I can watch more and over and over over again like I can this one. And I really, did think since I saw it at Halloween last year, I thought I was gonna like,

kind of skipped through it yesterday when I watched it. I didn't, I watched the whole thing. So it is interesting you saying that. read in March 2011, the movie was voted by BBC Radio One and BBC Radio One Extra, their listeners, as their second favorite movie of all time. Their number one was Shawshank Redemption. Hilarious comedy. Great, Shawshank Redemption, yes. Another hilarious comedy horror. So Simon Pegg has made it clear that he opposes any

GB Shannon (01:18:25.009)
reboot or remake calling such an act disrespectful to the original and it's deeply personal story. Do you agree? agree. We'll see. We'll see if, if they get into their sixties and there's a great offer that will make them a hundred million dollars and they have to do minimal effort and they get to at least just pick the people behind it. I could see them changing their, changing their mind. Yeah. Interesting. I what they would do differently or add to it. I don't either. Yeah. know, it's a pretty.

close to a perfect movie. And I don't really know what more territory you could explore in this. I don't think they should do it, but you never know. Okay, and so then we always have to ask this question is where does it fall? Where does it fall on the meter of horror comedy? Does it lean more on comedy? Does it lean more on horror? Is it a perfect blend? What do you guys think? Personally, I think it skews a little more comedy on the spectrum.

as evidence for the fact that I can watch it alone in my home. And when I think about it, like, you know, even, you know, years after watching it, like when I think about it, I do think about the zombies, but I mostly think about the funny parts of it. That's just so, that's the first thing that pops into my head. So that's how I gauge it. I feel the same way. I think it's a laugh out loud comedy all the way through with some really bad ass zombie scenes.

Like I said, at the beginning, the first 30, 40 minutes of the movie, when we see the zombies, they're kind of comical. Even though I think they said that their goal was to never make them the joke. Yeah, you did though. You made them the joke a lot early on. And then later they're not jokey anymore. They're real zombies that are a threat, but it's a comedy. I mean, I feel it's just, it's a comedy with great horror elements. So I would skew it 75 % comedy. Yeah, I agree. I agree with both of you. But a great blend, one of the best blends.

It really is. It really is a truly successful blend of it. Isn't that fun? What other, I mean, are there other movies that you could say the same about? Like, what would you, because again, I'm not a big horror person, so what's something similar? I can't name one that's as funny as Shaun of the Dead. Not one. I can't name one that's as funny as Shaun of the Dead. There are a lot of them. Like, Return of the Living Dead is my personal favorite horror comedy. Return of the Living Dead.

GB Shannon (01:20:45.727)
And it's funny, and I saw it three months ago in the theater again, but it's a horror movie with funny stuff. So it's like, I would say it's 75 % horror, 85 % horror. So just the balance is not like, a of the dead. So I can't, at the moment, maybe if I thought about it more, but I can't, I think this to me is the pinnacle. Yeah, it is, I agree with that. know what, and Tarantino called it his favorite film of 2004. I mean, it's huge praise. Yeah.

That is Shaun of the Dead. That was an absolute blast. It was as much fun as I had hoped it would be. And I live with disappointments constantly. So I'm always shocked when I'm not disappointed. So yay. I love that story. hello. bye. Bye bye, bye. Savannah, thank you so much for being a part of this and doing this. We both greatly appreciate this. Absolutely. This is so much fun. And hey, y'all got me to watch a horror movie. That's huge. We've accomplished something, Bart. Right on.

Let's talk about the breakup show. You've got a new breakup show coming out. Give us the dates, where they can see it, where they can get tickets, all of that jazz. Absolutely. Breakup show will be November 13th through the 21st, I believe. It's two weekends in November, the two weekends before Thanksgiving. It's gonna be at the Evergreen Theater in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee. And you'll be...

to get tickets at friendsofgeorge's.org as Friends of George's is producing this year's breakup show. It's gonna be a hoot and a half. That makes me so happy, Savannah. I'm so glad y'all are working on that together. Friends of George's is such an amazing organization. Absolutely. And some of my best friends and some of those talented folks in the city. I believe that this year we're actually gonna be calling it The Makeup Show.

if you catch my drift because makeup drag queens. Yeah. I will tell you they're the only people who show up to the Ostranders looking better than me and I'm not even mad about it. I'm Exactly. Not upset. They burned it. Well, if you're anywhere in the South around those dates, I could not recommend the show enough. Every time I've seen it, it has been incredibly funny, musical numbers. And since the last time you've seen it Bart, it's gotten even more insane. So. I can imagine. Yes. Yeah.

GB Shannon (01:23:02.975)
You will not be disappointed. Savannah, Lindsay, thank you for this experience and I care for you deeply. thanks guys. Love you, Savannah. Love y'all. Love y'all more. I Okay, bye bye. Bye Savannah. Bye. Bye. Bye. Woo. Woo. Man, lot to talk about there. A lot to talk about without one. Like you said, just one of the best. How much fun was that? To quote Rene Descartes, motherfucking Shaun of the Dead.

Pretty sure he said that. God dang it, I love that movie. Love talking to Savannah, miss talking to her. I live in the same city as her and just do not get to see her enough and it's real shame. I'm worn out from joy. Yeah. I'm worn out from getting to talk about such a great film with good fine folks such as yourself. Absolutely. And it's such a great film to talk about and it was fun to relive it again and just being here with you two, it's kind of perfect. It is a win-win across the board. That's correct. And next week.

Yes, next week, next week we have our Halloween episode. How exciting is that?

It's gonna be a good one too, man. See you next week. See you next week Bart, have a good one!

GB Shannon (01:24:19.902)
All music for this podcast is provided by MKE. To hear more of his music, visit his band's website at detectivemusic.com and Detective on Spotify.