She Likes to Watch

Simon Pegg to Hollywood: Zombies don’t run!

Simon Pegg knows a thing or two about zombies.

In “Shaun of the Dead,” Pegg and his best mate (Nick Frost) fought off hordes of hungry undead. In “Hot Fuzz,” the duo took on an entire village of evil English villagers.

Pegg has even appeared in two thrillers crafted by his horror movie idol, George Romero: “Land of the Dead” and “Diary of the Dead.”

So when Pegg reviewed “Dead Set,” a five-part BBC miniseries about a zombie outbreak in London, he had some harsh things to say about the sprinting, shrieking “zombies” who munch on reality-show fans.

Namely, zombies don’t run.

“I know it is absurd to debate the rules of a reality that does not exist,” Pegg admits, “but this genuinely irks me. You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can’t fly; zombies do not run.”

As he points out, zombies are in essence reanimated corpses resurrected through some combination of black magic, mad science and mere accident. They’re sad, shambling creatures, driven by an insatiable appetite for plump, juicy brains.

“Death is a disability, not a superpower,” Pegg argues. “It’s hard to run with a cold, let alone the most debilitating malady of them all.”

Pegg may be a zombie traditionalist but he’s not exactly in the majority.

By all accounts, the trend for fast zombies started in 2002 with Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later.”

“28 Days Later” pits a handful of survivors against frighteningly fast folks infected by an incurable virus known as “rage.” They’re not technically zombies, since they’re still alive, but these monsters share all the other characteristics of the walking undead: They’re scary. They’re blood-thirsty. And they’re nigh unstoppable.

“From that point on it was difficult to return to the old-school shambling George Romero zombies of yore,” “Dead Set” creator Charlie Brooker admitted in a Guardian interview. “They’re dumb and they can run? Brilliant.”

With “Dead Set,” he promises a darkly comic horror show with plenty of blood and guts.

“If nothing else, Dead Set should set some new benchmark (or low point, depending on your point of view) for onscreen gore,” Brooker said. “There’s no point making a (PG-13) zombie flick. Money shots, that’s what you want. And that’s what you’ll get. I sincerely hope some of you vomit.”

You can watch “Dead Set” for free here. Enjoy.

“Shaun of the Dead” delivers plenty of gore, giggles

Legend has it that “Shaun of the Dead,” the brilliant feature-film debut of director Edgar Wright, was the first “rom zom com.”

That is, a romantic zombie comedy. The holy triumvirate of heartfelt personal growth, buddy-movie style laughs, and hordes of undead corpses hungry for human flesh.

Simon Pegg plays Shaun, an affable young man going through life in a deadened daze. He schleps household appliances at his dead-end job, plays video games with his best mate Ed and ends every evening at The Winchester pub, pounding pints as Ed (Nick Frost) does his best “Every Which Way But Loose” impression.

Shaun sees nothing wrong with this routine lifestyle, but his long-time girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), does. She dumps him.

After another long, drunken night at the Winchester, Shaun realizes she’s right.

Unfortunately our hero comes to this realization at the very moment that armies of the undead are swarming England. As he struggles to win back his woman and reconcile his relationship with his remarried mom, he and Ed are forced to battle a zombie outbreak armed only with a shovel, a cricket bat and their own ingenuity.

“Shaun of the Dead” mixes genres with a cheerful abandon, blending the best of tongue-in-cheek British comedy and American horror classics like George Romero’s immortal “Dead” trilogy. It’s daringly funny, with all the gleeful gore of a “Dead Alive” or an “Evil Dead.”

At the same time, “Shaun” seems to improve on Judd Apatow’s patented formula of tempering sass with sweetness. These characters — played by a uniformly excellent cast — actually grow and change. Self-realization? In a zombie movie? Who’da thunk it?!?

See “Shaun of the Dead” tonight at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Showtimes are 7 and 9:15 p.m.

Tickets are $7.50.

***

Photo courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

It’s true that when you have a child, you don’t get out as much. And that’s OK — though it means I see far fewer movies than I once did and wind up learning a lot more about “Blue’s Clues” and “Dora the Explorer” than I ever expected. (Kids, sing along: “I’m the map, I’m the map, I’M THE MAP!”)

Still, my wife and I had to make time to see Hot Fuzz this past weekend.

We loved stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the outrageous zombie comedy “Shaun of the Dead.” (Our favorite scene: Battling the walking dead while Queen’s show-choiry “Don’t Stop Me Now” blares from a juke box.) So we had high hopes for “Fuzz,” which features the two Brits as police officers in a sleepy English village.

I hope these guys continue to pair up because they have the potential to become the next great comedic duo — a modern-day Abbott and Costello. A Martin and Lewis. A Nolte and Murphy.

Okay, I’ll stop at Martin and Lewis. My point is: They’re good.

I’m not one of those people who’s ga-ga over British movies, either. I mean, yeah, “Monty Python & The Holy Grail” was pretty funny. But you won’t hear me going around spouting lines from the movie with a bad British accent like some dorks I’ve seen. (Though my wife and I are in disagreement about the quality of my British accent. I say it’s spot-on; she says it’s like a bad pidgin language that combines English, Irish and Australian dialects.)

Anyway, “Hot Fuzz” didn’t disappoint. It’s filled with lots of smart comedy, quick “Airplane”-like jokes and a humdinger of an ending. And if you see it, keep an eye out for well-disguised cameos by Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson.

After seeing “Hot Fuzz,” I have hope for the summer movie season. Speaking of which … in next week’s Ticket, the features staff will write about upcoming movies we’re excited about — and ones that make us roll our eyes and talk about the further demise of Hollywood. Check it out Thursday, May 10.
***

Leigh Rubin update: Rubin, the creator of the syndicated “Rubes” comic panel, will offer a 1-day class through Cal Poly on June 1. Those who attend, at the Oceano Community Center, are invited to bring drawing materials for a little cartooning instruction.

Last week, I blogged about Rubin’s animation in the movie “Moola,” directed by Don Most, which screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Rubin has learned that Most (aka Ralph Malph from “Happy Days”) won best director at the festival, which could help distribution for the film.
***

Finally, it was great to see drummer Kenny Aronoff perform at the Graduate over the weekend. Though it was a shortened clinic — It was wedged in the middle of the Drum Circuit’s annual drum contest — it was still a thrill to see him play live. Kudos to the Drum Circuit for hosting great drummers like Aronoff and Steve Gadd.