Celebrating 15 Years of 'Shaun of the Dead'!

Since yesterday, Edgar Wright's directional debut Shaun of the Dead (2004) celebrated its 15th anniversary of when it was first released in UK cinemas. Not only did it become critically and financially successful, but it also brought up two more excellent entries which were later put into an 'unintentional' trilogy that later became known as the 'Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy'. The name came about as a silly joke during the promotion for Hot Fuzz (2007), into which the lead character Shaun (Simon Pegg) wanted nothing more on a Sunday morning than a refreshing Cornetto ice-cream to help cure his hangover. Director Edgar Wright would later state in an interview that he would often use Cornetto ice-cream as a hangover cure when he was studying at college.

Fun fact: At the after party for Shaun of the Dead, the cast and crew received free Cornetto ice creams so Wright and Pegg decided to include another reference to Cornetto in their next film in a failed attempt to get more free ice cream!

Each of the films feature a scene in which different flavours of Cornetto ice cream are shown on-screen. Shaun Of The Dead has a strawberry flavoured Cornetto (the red signifying blood), Hot Fuzz has a blue Cornetto (the colour of police), and The World's End (2013) features a green mint choc-chip flavour Cornetto (signifying a sci-fi element).

Everything from the brilliant cast performances, to the comical fast-paced editing and smart writing is what makes these films so entertaining to watch! I really admire Wright as a director, not only has he created these films but has made other great entries such as Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010) which I believe is a dangerously under-rated film and Baby Driver (2017) which I consider as a excellent achievement in both editing and sound-mixing.

One of my favourite memories watching these films was to eat strawberry Cornettos whilst watching Shaun of the Dead on the big screen as a farewell treat from my previous employer which I use to work as an usher for my local hometown cinema Maxime Cinema. I would someday love to see the full trilogy playing at my favourite local cinema in London's West End called the Prince Charles Cinema. They have previously screened Edgar Wright's work and the trilogy over there the past couple of years but I have never got the chance to see it since I wasn't living in London at the time. Hopefully this year will finally be my time to see these films as they should be intended!