In the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead, the zombie outbreak threatens London.
The story follows Shaun, an electronics salesman whose ordinary routine collapses when the undead begin appearing across the city. He attempts to protect his mother, girlfriend, and friend Ed while reaching what he believes is the safest place: the local pub, the Winchester.
Directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg, the film combines romantic comedy, British sitcom-style observation, and zombie horror. Its humor often comes from the characters initially failing to recognize that the apocalypse is happening around them.
London is not just a backdrop. The film uses recognizable suburban streets, shops, buses, and pubs to make the outbreak feel close to everyday life. Shaun of the Dead is also the first film in Wright, Pegg, and Nick Frost’s loosely connected Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, followed by Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.