9. It's The Darkest Film Of The Trilogy
While the first two movies in the series were totally lightweight as far as themes and characterisation goes, The World's End pulls in a totally different direction. The hardest emotion that Shaun of the Dead touched on was Shaun's difficult relationship with his step-father (Bill Nighy) and his slacker layabout buddy Ed (Frost), but here, Gary is a very troubled man indeed. Bringing his former best buddies back to Newton Haven in a desperate bid to relive the good 'ol days and get drunk (he's an alcoholic), Gary tries to evoke sympathy once it all turns sour by lying about his mother dying of cancer, something that only sours Andy's regard for him once he discovers the truth. Andy's current disdain for his former friend stems from a decades-prior incident that's also rooted in darkness, whereby Gary had a drugs overdose, and a drunk Andy decided to drive him to the hospital, but ended up flipping the car. Gary fled the scene, while Andy ended up with an almost-severed femoral artery, and being nicked for drunk driving. Oh, and then there's the eventual reveal that Gary has been cutting his wrists and spent time in hospital as a result, giving the film a thoroughly disturbing and unexpected dimension that's surprising but also admirable in its own ballsy way. The nature of these tonal shifts, I expect, will be rather divisive.