There are not enough positive adjectives for me to give Shaun of the Dead adequate praise. For lovers of horror, comedy, and romantic comedy alike this film delivers. The script and characters are all brilliantly and cleverly written. The lead character Shaun (Simon Pegg) goes from predictable underachiever to hero by trying to save his friends and mother (and some other people he doesn’t really like) when most of Britain is inexplicably turned to zombies. And oh, the references. Not only are there fantastic musical references, (and a wonderful scene including choreographed moves that can’t quite be called dancing, and Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen) but Shaun of the Dead also includes subtle jokes pertaining to other great zombie flicks, namely the recent 28 Days Later.

Hot Fuzz, however, is kind of a let down. Especially after being dazzled by the genius of Shaun of the Dead, which had the same writers, director, and lead cast members. That’s not to say it’s not funny; like its superior big brother, Hot Fuzz does have its moments of gratuitous gore and great film references (mostly to other cop buddy movies and to Shaun of the Dead) but the mystery in the plot just doesn’t work. Nick Angel (Pegg) is a no-nonsense London cop who gets transferred to a small village in the middle of nowhere. Before long Angel suspects an obvious culprit of being behind a string of mysterious deaths the townspeople are all too willing to write off as accidents. Without giving away the ending, as I said, the culprit and the ending are both fairly obvious. There’s just not a lot of fun in watching a film with no conflict. Also, Nick Frost’s character of Angel’s overzealous sidekick just isn’t believable after the spot-on acting he did as Ed in Shaun of the Dead. In its defence, though, it does offer some lighthearted yet good satire of rural towns and of English life in general. If you’re just going to watch one, make it Shaun of the Dead. But if, like me, you’re sad and like to do themed movie nights, take Hot Fuzz in stride as the one that’s not as great, but still deserves recognition and needs to be shown.

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