The story of mild mannered Shaun and his ever so mundane 'London living' existence is one that I'm certain many twenty somethings should easily relate to. Shaun spends most (if not all) of his time at The Winchester, a local pub that his girlfriend Liz is absolutely sick of being taken to, yet Shaun has (of course) grown accustomed to. Then there are his flat mates, Pete and Ed. Pete isn't so much the professional that he thinks he is, while Ed just likes to smoke up and enjoy his Playstation time with Shaun. Heavily influenced by Ed, Shaun does not see the rut that he's gotten himself into, (day in and day out like a zombie himself?) working at a local electronics store, his nights spent at The Winchester. It isn't until London is unexpectedly overrun by zombies that Shaun makes a serious attempt at taking control of his life. Once Shaun and Ed finally realize just what's going on, it's up to them to save their friends and family from the impending zombie attacks. Their ultimate destination? Yup, The Winchester.

While the influences here are many, Shaun of the Dead is anything but pretentious thievery. Something I wish I could say about other recent cinematic zombie efforts like 28 Days Later or the Dawn of the Dead remake. Taking its influences in stride, the folks behind Shaun of the Dead are certain to put a unique spin on the proceedings, in turn making it their own. At its heart, Shaun of the Dead is a mild cross between Romero's zombie epics and Peter Jackson's pre Lord of the Rings effort, Dead Alive AKA Brain Dead. While Shaun of the Dead is neither as gory nor as funny as the films it emulates, it still receives marks that are quite high. And in the end, Shaun of the Dead gets the job done in a seriously respectable manner. The job being that of delivering an unexpectedly gory, funny, witty, horror comedy that in my estimation, shouldnÕt cause die hard horror fans to groan or squirm in disapproval.

What really works in Shaun of the Dead? Well, just about everything it has to offer actually. A proportionate amount of likeable/unlikable characters, smart and funny dialogue (Dare I say sassy? I think I just did!), and enough of the actual horror element to satisfy the gore hounds. The genre references are generously sprinkled throughout, but not a one should cause you to turn up your bloody nose in disgust. Not even the moment when Ed, while speaking to Shaun's mother mid zombie attack says "We're coming to get you Barbara!" The comedy plays extremely well here, and director Edgar Wright has assembled and impressive ensemble cast, including co-writer Simon Pegg who actually plays Shaun himself. Piecing together a film with a comfortable mix of the funny, horrific and sometimes heart warming is not an easy task, but Wright and Pegg make it look SO easy, you'd think that perhaps it weren't that difficult a task at all.

Audio and video quality are both above average, with a clean and crisp anamorphic transfer at the forefront. Extras include almost a direct port of the UK edition, and note I said almost. And IÕm happy to note that they are almost all worthwhile. A brief onset video diary, casting tapes, flip chart walk through (similar to story boards) and SFX featurettes. Deleted scenes, outtakes and a nifty segment on clearing up some plotholes. 2 cast and crew commentaries, storyboard comparisons and cool TV clips featured in the film. The UK edition offers 2 additional commentaries (including one from the zombies) and an extra featurette or two. The fun menus are almost identical as well.

Above and beyond everything else, I'm appreciative of the obvious time, effort, love and respect that was put into the making of this film. When I hear a dedicated team of filmmakers tell me that it took them a total of 3+ years to see their film completed, I know there has to be something special happening, and I'm willing to give it that chance. Putting your film on the fast track to make a quick buck, no good. Investing the time and effort into a film that you not only want to make, but that you want to make right? So good. Shaun of the Dead gets it right in so many ways; it's definitely the cinematic horror/comedy/zombie/love story to see this year (even with the slight discrepancies between the UK & US DVD editions). Highly entertaining and highly recommended.