Eye-opening deadheads

The best spoofs are those that straddle the line between parody and homage. Nothing ruins a spoof more than condescension.

Thankfully, Shaun of the Dead is completely free of the latter. It is first and foremost an homage, made by people who obviously love zombie flicks and (fortunately) possess a wicked sense of humor.

The story line is novel, somewhere between vintage zombie (with many nods to other movies, notably 28 Days Later) and slacker film.

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a slacker in his late 20s living with two other guys in a small London flat. One of the roomies is his best friend, Ed (hilariously played by Nick Frost), a loser with a capital "L." Ed is the main reason Shaun’s girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), has dumped him recently — that and the fact that Shaun is kind of a loser himself, content with his assistant-manager job at an electronics store and to hang out at the local pub with Ed and Liz.

Things change one day when Shaun realizes that zombies are slowly — and I do mean slowly — taking over the streets of London. For once in his life, Shaun becomes a take-charge kind of guy and formulates a plan to get him and his buddy over to his mom’s, get her and her husband, then return for Liz.

On the way, the gang meets plenty of zombies and loses several of the rank to the shuffling, moaning throng. But Shaun gets what he wants.

One of the best running (or is that "shuffling") gags in Shaun of the Dead is that the zombies move extremely slowly. It is an obvious reference to George Romero’s zombie series (and countless others) in which the creatures move so slowly, you’ve gotta wonder how they catch anybody. Part of what makes this movie work so well is that it’s easy to picture director Edgar Wright and cowriter Simon Pegg watching a zombie flick and screaming at the victims, "Oh, c’mon! What’s your problem? It’s moving a mile an hour!"

But what really makes Shaun of the Dead work is its irreverent, wicked British humor. A combination of vicious sight gags, puns and some very clever behavioral bits makes the movie very funny. One gag is destined to be a classic: As Shaun and his friends venture out into the besieged streets, they pretend to be zombies so as not to be spotted.

The movie transforms into more of a straight zombie flick by the second half — when you’re already hooked. Beware of zombie violence like entrails and limbs getting torn off.

Shaun of the Dead
R (violence, Sade records thrown at zombies)
Starting tomorrow at area theaters
Three reels out of four

Recommended rental

The Alamo
R
Available Tuesday

Costing around $95 million to make, The Alamo grossed less than $23 million domestically. That makes it a bona-fide bomb, but it’s not a turkey by any means. Although I wouldn’t call it a lost classic, The Alamo is a strong entry into the historical drama sweepstakes. John Hancock, whose The Rookie also was criminally underrated and underviewed, brings a real intelligence and storytelling flair to the affair. The performances are all fine with the exception of Jason Patric, who looks as if he needs a high colonic. Billy Bob Thornton steals the show as Davy Crockett, portraying him as part rock star, part 19th-century dandy.