British film-makers usually distinguish themselves markedly from their American counterparts, but until recently were more known for romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral. It’s been a long time since Hammer Film Productions, for example, were renowned for their horror movies. Actually, it’s been nearly three decades.

However, in recent years that has all changed with three zombie offerings that have stood apart from Hollywood films of the same genre. They are 28 Days later, 28 Weeks Later, and Shaun of the Dead. All three met with high critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and are now available on DVD. Perhaps the most accessible is the self-professed romantic zombie comedy, Shaun of the Dead.

Beneath the trailer below, Buttery Popcorn.Net provides a brief review.

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is in a bit of a rut with no real life ambitions. He has stalled relationships with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), his best mate Ed (Nick Frost), and his mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) as well as a stalled career at a local appliance store. Frustrated by this lack of ambition, Liz breaks up with Shaun when he commits the cardinal sin of forgetting to book a reservation for their third anniversary and offering to take her once again to his favorite pub, The Winchester. While Shaun’s relationship with Liz dissolves before his eyes the rest of the world around him happens to slowly become overrun by zombies.

[...]

This is, hands down, one of the funniest zombie movies of all time. A fantastic supporting cast, clever fight sequences, unique camera angles, and perfectly understated zombie-to-regular-life comparisons (aren’t we all just drooling drones? yup!) make Pegg and Wright’s film a a cult classic.

More seriously, the two other films offer a post-apocalyptic view of England overrun by a man-made virus that has turned most of the population into zombie-like creatures. Both are more thought-provoking, suspenseful and intelligent than any U.S. zombie movie available to date. The first, 20 Days Later, sets the scene, but its sequel, 28 Weeks Later is the must-see as Society’s Elite explains.

The brilliant film 28 Days Later by Danny Boyle showed us a world where humans get infected with a “rage” virus, turning them into bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures, and tearing up anything in their path. In short, London got wiped out, with the exception of a few surviviors. The sequal, 28 Weeks Later, continues the story where, supposedly, all the infected have died of starvation, and now London has been declared virus-free. So a NATO team led by the U.S. Army comes in and attempts to rehabilitate the city. But as we know, something always goes wrong in these kinds of situations. You can’t help but notice the parallels between the U.S. troops patrolling London and the situation with Iraq. [...]

[...]

Overall, this sequal didn’t stray away from the story of the original. It stayed faithful while leaving room open for a third installment. The question is, will there be another sequel? I certainly hope so.

Amazon has all three DVDs for purchase:

Related posts:

1. Diary Of The Dead: DVD On May 20th
2. Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D
3. The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian