History YMMV / ShaunOfTheDead

%%* {{Cult Classic}}

* FirstInstallmentWins: Easily the most well-known and beloved of the "Cornetto" trilogy, even managing to avoid SeinfeldIsUnfunny status long after zombies became so oversaturated in pop culture that parodies and deconstructions practically became their own genre.

** Dianne is played by Lucy Davis, who would go on to play the role of Aunt Hilda in [[Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]] as well as the role of [[Film/WonderWoman2017 Etta Candy]].

** Though she doesn't let it get to her until an emotional outburst at the Winchester, Dianne is Liz's best friend, a failed actress and her boyfriend is only dating her because he's actually in love with ''Liz'' and is using Dianne as ReplacementGoldfish, which she says she's "come to terms with", it's really easy to feel bad for her. [[spoiler:The DVD extra reveals that though she survives the outbreak, she is so traumatized that she became a recluse.

** Though she doesn't let it get to her until an emotional outburst at the Winchester, Dianne is Liz's best friend, a failed actress and her boyfriend is only dating her because he's actually in love with ''Liz'' and is using Dianne as ReplacementGoldfish, which she says she's "come to terms with", it's really easy to feel bad for her.

* GeniusBonus: Pete admits he once had a good time with Ed when they spent the night playing ''VideoGame/Tekken2'' together. He then crushes the sentiment by saying that was five years ago and he's sick of him now. A viewer familiar with video games would recognize that game was years old at that point and realize the point Pete was about to make.
** To make it easier for non-fighting game fans, Tekken 2 was released in 1996 a full 8 years before the films "present day".

* NauseaFuel: David getting gruesomely [[GuttedLikeAFish disemboweled]] and [[AnArmAndALeg dismembered]] by the zombies. He may have been quite a {{Jerkass}} who [[AssholeVictim had it coming to him]], but it doesn't stop the scene from becoming rather repulsive to look at.

** The scene where Shaun and the group end up running into [[SimilarSquad their near-identical dopplegangers in Yvonne's group]] (who are all played by more famous actors than many of the people in the main cast) includes Creator/MartinFreeman as Shaun's doppleganger, Declan. Martin Freeman is part of the main cast of ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'', the final movie in the ThematicSeries that ''Shaun of the Dead'' started. He also played a Met Police Sergeant in ''Film/HotFuzz''.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[spoiler: "I'm not laughing." Neither are we, Shaun. Borders on a TearJerker moment itself.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: Shaun's mother does a very convincing zombie impression, even if she didn't mean to. [[spoiler:Then you find out that she'd been bitten just moments before.]]

* CatharsisFactor: The zombies attacking David and dragging him to his gruesome demise. While he was already an unlikable jerk prior, after he callously insulted Shaun's deceased mother, willingly tried to ''murder'' Shaun and leave the others for dead, audience members (''especially'' the original test audiences) were left ''cheering'' at his demise.

* WhatAnIdiot: Ed. Deconstructed during the film, though some moments stand out, such as having his cell phone on outdoor mode while ''surrounded'' by zombies. Being forgetful would at least be understandable, but ''answering it and holding a conversation'' wins him the award for dumbest human being ever. Oh, and he's not even chatting to a friend. He's ''selling weed''.
-->'''Creator/RogerEbert:''' ''(in his [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/REVIEWS/40913006/1023 review]])'' When Liz complains that Ed is always around, Shaun says "he doesn't have too many friends," which is often an argument for not becoming one.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Buy the DVD or watch the film through streaming and see how long you can go without skipping right to the "Don't Stop Me Now" scene.

** "Perfec'"

** Though she doesn't let it get to her until an emotional outburst at the Winchester, Diane is Liz's best friend, a failed actress and her boyfriend is only dating her because he's actually in love with ''Liz'' and is using Diane as ReplacementGoldfish, which she says she's "come to terms with", it's really easy to feel bad for her.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Buy the DVD and see how long you can go without putting it in the drive and skipping right to the "Don't Stop Me Now" scene.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: No matter what else is going on in your life or how big a rut you're in, making empty promises will sour people's opinions of you and you'll have to work damn hard to regain that trust.

*** How much of either is just him suffering from TheVirus after being biten by a zombie, anyway?

** Dianne is played by Lucy Davis, who would go on to play the role of Aunt Hilda in [[Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]].

*** His line "Didn't wanna' cramp your style" has two different meanings; did David expect Shaun to survive? Or did David enjoy the view of Shaun being so close to death?

*** Speaking of {{Series/DoctorWho}}, Cousin Tom (the last person in Yvonne's group, played by Matt Lewis) is none other than Nardole!

*** In the garden, David doesn't help when Shaun is tackled by a zombie and excuses himself by saying he "Didn't want to cramp your style". When Shaun is tackled, David doesn't show any physical signs of fear, only jumping behind Ed when Shaun charges the zombie with the tennis pole. He's either terrified that Shaun will lash out at him for not helping, or he's upset that Shaun survived the attack. David didn't plan the attack, it was just a golden opportunity to get rid of Shaun without pulling the trigger. He just didn't expect [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim Liz to be brave enough or, at least, care enough to save him]].

*** In the garden, David doesn't help when Shaun is tackled by a zombie and excuses himself by saying he "Didn't want to cramp your style". When Shaun's mum succumbs to the infection; David is the first to draw the gun on her and he then forces Shaun to do it instead when she reanimates. When Shaun punches David for his callousness, David tries to shoot him but fails. When Shaun is tackled, David doesn't show any sign of fear, only jumping behind Ed when Shaun charges the zombie with the tennis pole. His face is either the look of fear or the look of despair with Shaun's survival.
*** Finally, David is characterised as a coward who talks tough behind a person's back, so it's not hard to assume that he wants Shaun "out of the picture" so he can supplant him as Liz's boyfriend. When he tried to shoot Shaun; this was done after Shaun and Dianne had outed his feelings for Liz and after the latter had rejected him by angrily calling him "a twat" for wanting to shoot Barbara. Considering these factors, the attempted murder may have been motivated more by David's [[NotGoodWithRejection heartbreak and boiled over envy]].

*** In the garden, David doesn't help when Shaun is tackled by a zombie and excuses himself by saying he "Didn't want to cramp your style". When Shaun's mum succumbs to the infection; David is the first to draw the gun on her and he then forces Shaun to do it instead when she reanimates. When Shaun punches David for his callousness, David tries to shoot him but fails.

** Did David refuse to help Shaun fight the zombie in the garden because he was a coward? Or did he see an [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse opportunity to kill off Shaun]] and refused to intervene? It's clear that David harbours great envy towards Shaun for being with Liz because he harboured feelings for since they were in college together. During the outbreak, David is a bit intrusive with Liz and Shaun's relationship, as he criticizes Shaun at every opportunity in order to make Liz see Shaun's shortcomings. In the garden, David doesn't help when Shaun is tackled by a zombie and excuses himself by saying he "Didn't want to cramp your style". When Shaun's mum dies to the infection; David is the first to draw the gun on her and he then forces Shaun to do it instead when she reanimates. When Shaun punches David for his callousness, David tries to shoot him but fails. Even though David is characterised as a coward who talks tough behind a person's back, it's not hard to assume that he wants Shaun "out of the picture" so he can supplant him. When he tried to shoot Shaun; this was done after Shaun and Dianne had outed his feelings for Liz and after the latter had rejected him by calling him "a twat". Considering these factors, the attempted murder may have been motivated by David's [[NotGoodWithRejection heartbreak and boiled over envy]].

** Did David refuse to help Shaun fight the zombie in the garden because he was a coward? Or did he see an [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse opportunity to kill off Shaun]] and refused to intervene? It's clear that David harbours great envy towards Shaun for being with Liz because David harboured feelings for since they were in school together. During the outbreak, David is a bit intrusive with Liz and Shaun's relationship, as he criticizes Shaun at every opportunity in order to make Liz see Shaun's shortcomings. In the garden, David seemingly doesn't help when Shaun is tackled by a zombie and brushes off his inactivity with the excuse of "Didn't want to cramp your style." When Shaun's mum dies to the infection; David is the first to draw the gun on her and he then forces Shaun to do it instead when she reanimates. When Shaun punches David for his callousness, David tries to shoot him but fails. Even though David is characterised as a coward who talks tough behind a person's back, it's not hard to assume that he wants Shaun "out of the picture" so he can comfort a grieving Liz. When he tried to shoot Shaun, this was done after Shaun and Dianne had outed his feelings for Liz and after Liz had rejected him by calling him "a twat". Shooting Shaun may have been motivated by [[NotGoodWithRejection heartbreak and boiled over envy]].