The 10 Best Hidden Gags In Shaun Of The Dead
It?s one of the best British comedies of all-time, but did you know about these secret jokes writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright slipped into the 2004 zom-rom-com?
[Watch ?Shaun Of The Dead? on Sky Movies]
Chris Martin plays a zombie
The Coldplay frontman shows up at the end of the movie talking about charity gig Zombaid, but the singer ? a friend of Pegg ? managed to sneak into the action as a member of the undead.
Insert joke here about the type of people who listen to Coldplay.
- What Happened To The Girl In The Red Coat From Schindler?s List?
- 10 Best Horror Movie Jump Scares
The supermarket is named after John Landis
As well as being a clever riff on British brand Londis, the supermarket we see in the movie ? and the one where Mary, the zombie in the garden works ? is called Landis, ?a nod to the legendary genre director. As the man behind ?An American Werewolf in London? he?s a clear influence on the ?Shaun? creators.
Tyres from ?Spaced? is undead in it
Lots of the audience for ?Shaun? came from fans of Wright and Pegg?s (along with Jessica Hynes) previously collaboration, the sitcom ?Spaced?.
One of the many great supporting characters in that show is Tyres, an EDM-obsessed bike messenger played by Michael Smiley. Look at the zombie horde ? there he is?
Shaun works at a shop named after a ?Dawn Of The Dead? character
Pretty esoteric this one, but Shaun?s day job is at a place called Foree Electric. Horror geeks will recognise Foree as the surname of actor Ken, aka the star of George A. Romero?s 1978 horror classic.
Spot the ?Star Wars? reference
Anyone who?s ever heard Simon Pegg speak ever will know that he?s a ?Star Wars? aficionado, with a deep knowledge and love of the original trilogy (er, not so much for the prequels).
So it?s no surprise the actor would want to throw in a nod to Episode IV ? which he does when the gang are in the Winchester attempting to fend off the zombies.
As the bad guys break into the pub, Shaun shouts to Ed (Nick Frost) ?Get behind me! Get behind me!?, just like Han Solo does to Chewbacca when threatened by the stormtroopers on the Death Star.
The rifle is a Winchester
Makes sense that the gun above the bar in a pub called The Winchester is a Winchester 73. But the rifle ? which was frequently used by cowboys and is known as the ?Gun Which Won The West? ? has a strong connection with zombie movies. It featured heavily as a weapon in both the original 1968 ?Night of the Living Dead? and the 1990 remake.
Pegg included one of his favourite pubs in the script
When Liz (Kate Ashfield) suggests she would like to go somewhere other than the Winchester, Shaun mentions the Shepherds. On Archway Road in London near Highgate tube, this really was one of Pegg and Frost?s favourite boozers, although it has since been taken over and renamed The Boogaloo.
The Place that does all the fish is literally that
When discussing what they want to eat, one of the suggestions is the ?place that does all the fish?. A witty throwaway line, but if you look at where they leaf to in the Yellow Pages, you can see that is actually the tagline of the restaurant.
And speaking of the restaurant?
It?s an Italian called Fulci?s. Horror fans will know that Lucio Fulci is one of the great cult genre filmmakers, responsible for such controversial fare as 1979?s ?Zombie?, which was one of the original video nasties.
Ed?s boozy plan for Shaun?s break-up day at the start of the film actually tells the entire story
First he suggests a Bloody Mary at the start of the day (Mary is the name of the zombie they try to kill with records early on); then on for a bite at the King?s head (Bill Nighy as Shaun?s stepdad gets bitten on the neck); next he suggests a couple at the Little Princess (the princess is girlfriend Liz and the couple their friends Dianne and David).
Not surprisingly, he says they would stagger back to the Winchester (which they do when pretending to be zombies); finally, Ed says, ?Bang! Back to the bar for shots.?
Well ? Shaun, a rifle, people trying to eat them = gunfire.
- The Most Haunted Movie Sets
- The Curse Of Poltergeist
- The Best Postmodern Horror Movies
Watch ?Shaun of the Dead? and many other great British films on Sky Movies.