One of my all-time favorite movies is "Shaun of the Dead." It's the perfect blend of horror and comedy, which isn't easy to do. Plus it's got zombies in it, which automatically makes any movie a must see in my book. It's got shambling, slow-moving zombies too, mind you, not these new fangled fast running zombies. Isn't "fast zombie" an oxymoron? If not, then it should be.But I digest. 3 or 4 years ago I decided to dress up for Halloween at work, and went as Shaun. The option to wear a Halloween costume was one of the (very) few fun things the company tolerated. I wasn't going to bother with dressing up that year, but the day before Halloween I was walking through the local Walmart and spied a cheap polyester red tie. Having just watched SOTD just a few days earlier, I exclaimed out loud "That's the exact same tie that Shaun wore!" Ordinarily I would have been embarrassed at talking to myself in public, but since I was in Walmart, I blended right in with the other customers.
So I bought the tie and an even cheaper polyester short sleeve dress shirt. I came home and painted a red stain on the pocket of the shirt ("You've got red on you!"). I made an exact copy of Shaun's "Foree Electric" name tag on the computer (10 points if you know the significance of that name!), printed it out and stuck it in a name tag holder. I added all that to a pair of black pants, and Violin! Instant Shaun costume!
Sadly, as I started this project at the last possible minute, there wasn't time to make a bloodied cricket bat.
The next morning I dressed in my costume, put some "product" in my hair and styled it as much like Mr. Simon Pegg's as I could. I made a pretty good facsimile of Shaun, if I do say so myself. I strutted proudly into work, imagining all the accolades my costume would receive. My hopes were dashed when it turned out that only about 1% of my fellow employees recognized who I was supposed to be. Most of them guessed "Best Buy Salesperson." Even after I told them who I was, 3/4 of the rabble had never seen the movie. Sacrilege!
Maybe if I'd had the bloody cricket bat to complete the ensemble I would have been more easily recognized. I could also have used it to bludgeon in the head those who still didn't get it.
One thing I've always been curious about (well, not always, just since the SOTD movie came out): The official spelling of Shaun's name is "SHAUN." Given that it's a riff on Romero's classic "Dawn of the Dead," shouldn't his name be spelled "SHAWN?" Is that part of the joke? Do they not use the "SHAWN" spelling in Britain?
Bonus points if you know Shaun's last name in the movie!
