20 Years Ago, a Legendary Director Created the Perfect Zombie Movie — and Changed the Genre Forever

Zombies are one of the most bendable fictional metaphors. Their carnivorous slaughter makes the deadly stakes of their stories obvious. But most zombie stories soothe our fears of death; the worst-case scenario isn’t the end of life, but the thought of being transformed into a mindless monster. That’s where the deeper meaning of a zombie story can really land. Aren’t our everyday actions already turning us all into zombies?

Before the zombies start showing up Shaun of the Deaddirector Edgar Wright shows us that ordinary people already look like them, including the lovable loser Shaun (Simon Pegg). Shaun’s movements are decidedly zombie-like as he rolls out of bed, making the film’s text and subtext clear from the start: zombies are both real and metaphorical. Twenty years after its American release on September 24, 2004, Shaun of the Dead remains a classic, not because it’s a fun horror movie, but because it effectively destroyed the zombie movie genre with mockery.

A zombie movie without a genre

One of Shaun of the Dead its greatest triumph is that, even 20 years later, its manic shifts in tone feel revelatory. The film begins as a comedy for the lazybones, with Shaun (Simon Pegg) coming face to face with the fact that his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), is tired of going to the same pub over and over again and wants him to grow up. Meanwhile, Shaun’s somewhat successful roommate, Pete (Peter Serafinowicz), is berating him about his best friend, a squatter, Ed (Nick Frost), who does nothing but sit around and play video games all day, contributing nothing to their shared apartment. Shaun has a crappy job as a TV salesman, where his teenage underlings mock him. His stepfather, Phil (Bill Nighy), nags him to be a better son, while his mother, Barbara (Penelope Wilton), is oblivious to his slide into mediocrity.

Shaun’s low-stakes world is falling apart, and the stakes are sky-high. After Liz dumps him, Shaun retreats into video games and laziness with Ed, which isolates them from paying attention to the headlines; a mysterious virus has struck London, and people are turning into zombies. This central premise is rooted in the reality of the early 2000s, when you could still stare at a screen all day and NO find out what was going on in the world. Instead of criticizing Shaun and Ed for their lack of connection to reality, their analog video game habits save the day.

For the first 15 minutes or so, you’re basically watching a big-screen remake of Pegg, Wright, and Jessica Stevenson’s groundbreaking 1999-2001 sitcom Set up. Then the zombies show up.

Shaun of the Dead origin

For fans of classic Pegg, Edgar Wright and their frequent collaborators, Set up is patient zero for Shaun of the Dead and the duo’s later films, including Hot Fuzz (2007) and The end of the world (2013). Shaun of the Dead It’s seen as the first part of a loose trilogy, but its real roots — beyond the obvious zombie movie influences — come from Set up episode titled “Art”, in which Pegg’s character Tim spends most of the episode having fun Resident Evil 2 imagining several characters as zombies at the same time.

Shaun of the Dead also draws on the many talents of British comedians of the era, including stand-out performances by Dylan Moran, the hilarious star of the cult sitcom Black booksand performances by original stars Office, Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis (basically the original Jim and Pam). Pegg’s Set up co-star Jessica Stevenson also appears, metafictionally taking on the role of Shaun’s ex-girlfriend Yvonne, while Bill Nighy adds a funny seriousness to the proceedings, making Shaun of the Dead who’s who in 2004.

Uncompromisingly geeky

Beyond its origins and later influences, Shauna most influential was the way he wore his overt geekiness on his sleeve. Kevin Smith’s 1994 film Officials is an earlier and more bizarre example, but Shaun of the Dead had the audacity to use geeky dialogue — with constant video game references — while also creating a genuine horror film. The success of this approach is obvious; Shaun of the Dead not only appealed to die-hard zombie fans who caught all the references, but it reached a wider, previously undiscovered demographic. It was a deeply British film, but its comedy and geeky ethos allowed it to become a mainstream hit, grossing over $38 million on a tiny $6 million budget.

You can’t imagine Edgar Wright’s 2010 film. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World without Shaun of the Dead upcoming firsts, and even Wright’s less comedic efforts like this 2021 one Last Night in Soho, another film that remixes classic horror tropes with a stylish metafictional story. While it seems unlikely that Pegg or Wright could completely change the genre, it’s still a good thing if they don’t. Shaun of the Dead is like the debut album that made a rock band famous but never got topped. Watching it today, it becomes obvious that if this was Pegg and Wright’s peak, it’s an impressive achievement.