Shaun of the Dead: Critic Reviews

95%

MovieWeb: 8 reviews

91%

RottenTomatoes: 177 reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

75

The filmmakers, clearly fans of the genre, have got the zom and the com parts down cold.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Stephen Holden New York Times (Top Critic)

60

By treating the genre as a joke, this satire, whose title plays off George A. Romero's 1979 golden oldie, Dawn of the Dead, yields ironic dramatic dividends.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

Wonderfully original, fast-moving and funny.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Ann Hornaday Washington Post (Top Critic)

If the zombie genre steadfastly refuses to die, we can be grateful to Shaun of the Dead for breathing fresh, diverting life into the form, with subtle visual humor and a smart, impish sense of fun.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Wesley Morris Boston Globe (Top Critic)

75

A British zombie flick that works not because of the crowds of undead, but because the guy trying to exterminate them was himself running out of reasons to live.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Michael Atkinson Village Voice (Top Critic)

Taken on its own shaky legs it's a wittier genre coda than Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Jami Bernard New York Daily News (Top Critic)

75

The movie's great joke never wears out its welcome: Many of the living are virtually indistinguishable from the undead.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Tom Maurstad Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

84

This movie is destined for cult greatness. See it now and you can say -- honestly, for once -- that you were there in the beginning.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Lisa Kennedy Denver Post (Top Critic)

75

Cheeky and unexpectedly charming.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Anthony Lane New Yorker (Top Critic)

A smart, cultish, semi-disgusting homage to the fine British art of not bothering.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

75

Has its pleasures, which are mild but real.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Robert K. Elder Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

88

Playing the stereotypical twentysomething everyman, Pegg has a disarming fragility that evokes a bit of empathy from anyone ever stuck in a rut.
Full Review » 8 years ago
J. R. Jones Chicago Reader (Top Critic)

50

The movie has been running on shtick for so long that the attempt at drama rings hollow.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic)

75

Screamingly funny.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune (Top Critic)

88

Makes the best use of zombies since Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Tom Long Detroit News (Top Critic)

67

Witty, energetic and appropriately self-mocking, cheesy fun.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Bill Muller Arizona Republic (Top Critic)

80

Zombie movies have been spoofed before, but this one lurches to the top of the list on the strength of its twisted British wit and oh-so-clever mix of laughs and horror.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Derek Elley Variety (Top Critic)

Co-scripters Pegg and Wright structure it as a classic three-acter (set-up, journey, finale) with enough twists, character development and small set pieces to keep the comedy boiling.
Full Review » 8 years ago
V.A. Musetto New York Post (Top Critic)

75

A drop-dead-funny comedy.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel (Top Critic)

100

Zombies or no zombies, this is the funniest film of the year.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Geoff Pevere Toronto Star (Top Critic)

80

Plays brilliantly with our familiarity with zombie genre (yes, I actually said that) convention.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Leah McLaren Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

88

It's intelligent, funny and utterly disgusting all at once.
Full Review » 8 years ago
David Edelstein Slate (Top Critic)

I love George Romero's zombie pictures, and I love deadpan English humor, but I had no idea that the two would mesh as happily as they (mostly) do in Shaun of the Dead.
Full Review » 8 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

75

For those who don't mind a little laughter with their zombies (or perhaps it should be the other way around), this is an unusual source of entertainment.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Ray Bennett Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

There are certainly touches that only the homegrown crowd will get, but there's sufficient energy and scattershot horror movie references that it should please fans of gross-out humor everywhere.
Full Review » 8 years ago