3) Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Heralded with the unique accolade, ‘The world’s first Rom-Zom-Com,’ Shaun of the Dead holds a special place in the hearts of horror fans everywhere. The story of every-man Shaun rising up to fend off a zombie apocalypse while trying to figure out his own life was a huge international smash due to a hilarious script and standout performances from both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Edgar Wright’s unique directorial style on Shaun of the Dead (see the clip below for a great example of his awesome humor) quickly catapulted the young British filmmaker to the big leagues, where he completed his Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy to great acclaim. While working on cop comedy Hot Fuzz and sci-fi epic The World’s End, Wright begun developing his biggest movie yet, Ant-Man. However, fans were dismayed earlier this year when Wright surprisingly left the project due to creative differences with Marvel.
After the initial success of Wright’s debut feature, he and Pegg briefly considered creating a sequel to Shaun of the Dead that would replace the zombies with a different monster, but the two decided against it as they felt that too many characters had died to continue the story effectively. However, now that some time has passed, Wright should reconsider his stance as fans would love to see our hero ten years on to see if his life has changed in any way. The zombie threat was neutralized at the end of Shaun of the Dead, but the undead were still present, so it wouldn’t take much to imagine them escaping their confinement, facing off against Shaun and a new cast a decade later.
Besides, isn’t it about time that a movie like Shaun of the Dead 2 came along and injected a bit of humor back into the zombie genre before we all drown in the depressing, but admittedly brilliant escapades of Rick and his crew in The Walking Dead?