Shaun of the Dead

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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As Halloween approaches, we start thinking of ghosts and goblins and zombies.

Every October I treat myself to a marathon of scary horror movies. “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “Poltergeist,” “The Shining.” But in recent years I’ve added “Shaun of the Dead.”

More funny than scary, this brilliant parody of zombie movies was written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Also, Wright directed this zany British outing. And Pegg stars as the story’s hapless hero.

You’ll recognize Pegg from his mainstream American films, a sidekick in “Mission Impossible” actioners and Scotty in the newer “Star Trek” movies.

A short blond nebbish with thinning hair, Pegg is the antithesis of movie-star handsome. But his comic timing is impeccable. His reactions right on the money. And his sense of humor evident.

Here, he plays the titular Shaun, an electronics salesman trying to get a handle on his dull life. His colleagues disrespect him; he has issues with his step-dad: and his girlfriend Liz is bored with hanging out at his favorite pub. When he suggests dinner at the pub for their anniversary, that’s the last straw. She dumps him.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the next day there’s a zombie apocalypse — you know, when the dead rise up with the desire to eat people’s brains. A common occurrence in horror flicks ever since George A. Romero’s 1968 cheap-o masterpiece, “Night of the Living Dead.”

Shaun and his chum Ed find themselves fending off zombie hoards. The pub is overrun with zombies, so they pretend to be deadheads too, passing among them.

Shaun and Ed rescue Liz and her friends. They also set out to save Shaun’s mum, Barbara — giving us the best line in the movie: “We’re coming to get you, Barbara!” (If you’ve seen “Night of the Living Dead,” you’ll get it.)

You don’t have to stay up late as Halloween approaches, flipping the dial on your TV, to catch “Shaun of the Dead.” It’s playing Monday night at Tropic Cinema as part of its Classic Fright Nights series.

BTW, George A. Romero was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s homage to “Night of the Living Dead” that he invited them to have cameo roles in his horror sequel, “Land of the Dead.” Pegg and Wright opted to play — what else? — zombies.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com