Shaun of the Dead

Director Edgar Wright has crafted a comic-horror masterpiece that is as sick as it is funny. Simon Pegg plays an appliance store clerk who must take on the role of cricket bat-wielding hero when zombies infiltrate London. As brazenly funny as Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movies, while maintaining the sickness of George Romero’s Dead trilogy, this is a fresh and exciting film experience. Pegg makes for a great leading man while his sidekick, Nick Frost, is a gross howl. The British sense of humor proves perfect for the zombie film: It’s George Romero meets The Young Ones. This is a good-looking movie, with makeup effects that would make Tom Savini (Dawn and Day of the Dead) mighty proud. It’s surprisingly gory for an R-rated film, so watch out. One of the year’s best.