8 Smartest Decisions In Zombie Movie History

3. Utilisation Rather Than Destruction - Shaun Of The Dead

Shaun of the Dead
Universal Pictures

As far as horror-comedy's go, few can match Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead. Labelled a zom-rom-com upon its initial release, this 2004 picture still retains its appeal to this day, with the jokes still landing, the emotional beats still hitting, and the terrors of the time still conjuring up a sense of dread.

Where Shaun of the Dead was particularly smart, was in how its closing moments - which took place six months after the 'Z Day' antics seen throughout the rest of the film - showcased zombies being used in a practical manner rather than simply been destroyed.

It's obviously not explained exactly who the wise guys and gals were who made the call to utilise the undead in this manner, but a quick flick through the TV channels reveals that zombies are now being used for entertainment purposes on game shows, while also having their engrained memories and reflexes used to have them carry out manual jobs.

This is all highlighted before the final shot of Shaun of the Dead sees Simon Pegg's Shaun heading to his garden shed to play video games with his infected pal, Ed (Nick Frost), who clearly still has an affection for TimeSplitters 2 in addition to his hunger for human flesh.

Likewise, similarly clever was Shaun and his pals opting to mimic the slow, jutted mannerisms of zombies as a way to casually pass themselves off as fellow members of the undead earlier on in the movie.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.