Story: A romantic comedy. With zombies! Shaun (Simon Pegg) is not quite your average twentysomething. Lacking any real ambition and drifting along in a job that he hates, he drives his long-suffering girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), up the wall. Despite being a very decent chap, Shaun suddenly gets a very rude wake up call when the undead begin roaming the earth (or London's Crouch End, at least) and, with the help of his slacker chum, Ed (Nick Frost), he must save Liz and his dear mum from becoming zombies! Well, that's if he can get out of the local pub...

What's it like?: It's funny, gory, well written, well played, well directed and clearly the best zombie movie since Romero finished off his holy trilogy in 1985. Director Edgar Wright and writer/star Simon Pegg have created a movie that carefully balances humour and homage with the triumphant return of the old school zombie-gutting as well! Pegg is spot on as the downtrodden Shaun, and his chemistry with co-star and real life best mate Nick Frost (who plays layabout flatmate Ed) is absolutely perfect. Playing off each others strengths to great comic (and later touching sentimentality) effect. Filled with great set pieces and endlessly quotable dialogue ("****-a-doodle-do!", "Ooooo he's got an arm off!? this is one of the greatest black comedies ever made. It's like an Evil Dead 2 for the 21st century. The soundtrack is probably worth mentioning as well with the odd musical cue taken from the Goblin-penned soundtrack to the original DAWN OF THE DEAD. It's made by horror fans for horror fans so you'll enjoy playing spot the reference with not only the music (and certain shots) but certain bits of dialogue as well, "we're coming to get you Barbara!" Magic stuff and not in a blas¨¦-Tarantino type way either. There are also some nice human touches during the final showdown, when the impact the outbreak has had on Shaun's family finally takes hold. In a film that is generally about people dealing with their personal issues amidst a zombie plague its nice to see the plague having a direct impact and Pegg handles the emotion really well. Bit of a dark moment well handled by all concerned.

There are also SIXTH SENSE type clues that foretell the future of the characters and other major plot points - Edgar Wright discusses them in his commentary - so look out for em. The great thing about this movie is that you pick up more each time you watch it. Every little thing seems to have significance; each shot is filled with significance. More can be picked up on repeat viewings and believe me it's a movie you'll just want to see again and again. - 10/10: Absolute classic.

The DVD
Picture: Presented in a beautiful 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen the image drips with clarity and a rich texture. It holds up perfectly during both the interior and exterior sequences. Nothing noticeably wrong from what I saw. - 4/5

Sound: DD 5.1 surround sound. Great mix here. The dialogue is always audible through the front speakers whilst the rear ones are used to good effect during the early pub sequences. The triumph is the final showdown when the characters are holed up in their local pub. You can feel the zombies all around you. Otherwise the usual background noises are there but not distracting. I certainly didn£s notice any problems when I was listening. The only thing that could've bettered it was a DTS track but they took this DVD to the limits as it is. Plus that's a cosmetic complaint because the current sound mix is more than enough.
9/10

Special Features: There is quite a lot on offer here but not all of it has the repeat factor. The audio commentaries are generally very good but tackle them one at a time:

AC #1 - Pegg/Wright: Great commentary! Theres so much info included in here that, as Edgar Wright comments, theres barely time to fit it all in! Everything from the shooting locations to scripting changes is discussed in some detail and rarely is a stone left unturned. Wright talks about the how his shooting style was influenced by John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and the Coen brothers (and points to specific shots for each), whilst Pegg often refers to his "Ash/Bruce Campbell" moments during the zombie smack-ups. This is what audio commentaries should be; Tim Burton should take note.

AC #2 - Cast: Another great commentary but for different reasons. The good thing about listening to this one was the banter between the cast members. All have a flair for comedy and their timing is spot on. Pegg and Frost are on top form again and a few times I laughed out loud.

AC #3 - Bill Nighy/Penelope Wilton: This one's a bit of a curiosity. They both sound a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing but Nighy's got one of the coolest voices around so he's always fun to listen to. You won't get a great deal out of this one but it's worth a listen for novelty value as there are some interesting stories told and they have an obvious chemistry.

AC #4 - The Zombies: Real disappointment this one. I thought from the press releases it would be full of moaning and groaning as if the ZOMBIES themselves were doing it. No such look. Just four zombie extras picked by Pegg and Wright to talk about their on-set experiences and how they got involved. I never got over the fact that it wasn't a commentary in character so I didn't find this as engrossing.

Extended Scenes w/ commentary: 17 extended scenes here with optional commentary by Edgar Wright. Always fun to see these and sad that it was the running time which made most of these get cut. Most just show more of the crisis as it takes off with Shaun continuing to be unaware of what's happening. Nice to see 'Tyres' from SPACED make a cameo as a zombie too.

Outtakes: Good stuff here. Mostly from Nick Frost's ad-libs but there's a fun part where Pegg and Serafinowicz read their lines as Lennon and McCartney: frighteningly accurate.

"The Man Who Would be Shaun": Frost and Pegg read a scene as if they are Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Pegg does a wicked Caine and it ends after 30seconds with Frost cracking Pegg up with a devilish Connery. Worth a check out but it£r a throwaway extra that should've been put in the OUTTAKES.

"Funky Pete": Another mad throwaway sequence highlighting how absurd things can get when re-dubbed for TV or airline viewing. Here a feisty dialogue exchange between Pete (Serafinowicz) and Ed (Frost) is re-dubbed with every "****" changed to "funk" and "prick" to "prink" I must admit to laughing out loud by the end of it.

Plot-holes: Here we have comic book style images explaining three plot-holes; "How Shaun gave the Zombies the slip?", "What happened to Diane when she left the Winchester?" and "How did Ed get to the shed??". Each has a voice-over by the relevant actor in character with the funky mall music from the end credits of the original DAWN OF THE DEAD playing over each one. Great idea superbly handled with fine art by 2000AD man Oscar Wright.

TV Bits - T4, Trisha and "Fun-Dead': The Trisha (a UK day time talk show host) clips (two of them: before and after the outbreak) are a bit dull and forgettable but raise a smile. The "Fun-Dead" has 4 zombies competing in a game show accompanied again by the mall music from Dawn Of the Dead. Cracked me up especially with the wacky voice over by an over excited commentator. The real gem is the T4 interview with UK band Coldplay promoting 'Zomb-aid'(give zombies a chance). They explain how their drummer and bassist were turned into zombies; when the government executed them they started to worry about zombie rights. Played straight it just gets funnier the more you watch it especially the part where Pegg and Frost join in as the two 'new' members of Coldplay. Class.

2000AD Comic Strip: A little glimpse at the story written for the 2000AD comic book when the movie was launched in the UK. Great artwork by Oscar Wright. The original copies go for inflated sums on eBay if you fancy an old-fashioned read. Takes a look at the origin of the 'Bloody' Mary zombie from the movie as well.

The Rest: Also included are Make Up tests, very brief on-set diaries from Pegg and Lucy Davis, a little video from 2001 which shows Pegg and Wright going through a flip chart of stuff they WANT to happen in Shaun when it gets made (interesting to see what£r still in!), trailers and the well-judged UK TV spots (also includes the 2003 Frightfest teaser which pushes the dark angle of the story), a ¡|ombie Gallery?which is a massive collection of photos of the different zombies on show and the make-up process/behind the scenes etc, a 'Poster Gallery' which shows the different posters developed and used for the movie in the UK and Europe and I think the US theatrical is on there as well. - 5/5

Summary: Great film gets a great DVD release. Stunning picture quality and sound mix combined with a fascinating, if a little clogged, collection of extras. If you like your zombie movies the Romero way filled with wit (without being self-referential) then SHAUN should already be in your collection. If not then run out and buy it! It's a modern classic.

Verdict: A triumphant 5 out of 5 'Possessed Cheryls'. A benchmark for other releases.