Shaun of the Dead Gets the Dead Island Treatment

[Andy Chalk]

Shaun of the Dead Gets the Dead Island Treatment

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As proof that any zombie holocaust can be turned into a deeply touching moment if it's simply run backwards and set to slow music, nerd musician Shaun of the Dead [http://www.facebook.com/itsDanBull].

The Dead Island promotional trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107826-Dead-Island-The-Best-Zombie-Game-Trailer-Ever] stirred up a whole lot of controversy when it came out last week. The short film tale of a family falling victim to a zombie horde in slow motion as a melancholy piano played in the background was bad enough in itself, but the in-your-face death of a young girl, the moment around which the entire clip was built, proved to be too much for a surprising number of viewers. Even among jaded, cynical, non-parent gamers, the tug on the heartstrings was mighty powerful, to the point that some observers actually complained that the use of the girl was "manipulative."

Setting aside for a moment the obvious argument that that was the whole point, we now have a chance to see the same effect applied to another, less overtly button-pushing zombie massacre, specifically that of Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 zombie rom-com starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Bull, half of the team who gave us the "Take Me to Oblivion [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105106-Rappers-Ask-Bethesda-for-More-Elder-Scrolls]" rap last year, chose the most emotionally weighty segment of the movie, which is kind of cheating - it would have been fun to see the style applied to the album-throwing bit - but it's nonetheless a bang-up job of editing and the effect, for me at least, is even more powerful than the animated Dead Island video.

I suppose the lesson here is that just about any sad moment can be made genuinely affecting with the right editing, and that a real-life zombie holocaust probably wouldn't be as much fun as we like to think. Still, this is great work, no?

via: Den of Geek [http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/782476/when_shaun_of_the_dead_met_dead_island.html]


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[RikSharp]

as much as i like shaun of the dead.

i am already sick to the back teeth of dead island and the frenzy around its trailer.
will now be avoiding the game on these grounds.

 

[SnipErlite]

That....was more emotionally powerful than I thought it would be :S Certainly puts a new spin on the whole scene.

 

[JordanMillward_1]

It was good, but no where near as good as the Dead Island one. Where was the mix of rewinding and forward playing? That was one of the main bits of the DI trailer, which this copy failed to do.

I'd give it a C- or 6/10 - Decent effort, but try harder next time.

 

[Slycne]

I enjoyed it, smartly cut and I'm sure Edgar Wright would approve.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

Doesn't really work this time around, and the music is sooooo out of place given the context.

I have to agree with this.

I can see what they were aiming for, but they shouldn't have bothered.

 

[Ohlookit'sMatty]

That wasn't really the Dead Island treatment, that was just bits if the film in reverse // If it had been cut with them traveling to the pub well then yes it would have work a lot better

Still love the music for it tho

-M

 

[Wes1180]

I liked it, although it would be good to see the forward and backward parts.

 

[nuba km]

It was good, but no where near as good as the Dead Island one. Where was the mix of rewinding and forward playing? That was one of the main bits of the DI trailer, which this copy failed to do.

I'd give it a C- or 6/10 - Decent effort, but try harder next time.

sums up my feelings about the copy trailer trailer also I am very unemotional (as in I would push over someone in a wheelchair to try and survive the zombie apocalypse) and the dead island trailer actually made me care about the little girl so I understand how some people will find it hard to watch the trailer but that shows that the trailer isn't a cheap free publicity stunt but rather a strong and very emotional piece of animation, I would be happy if the game was half as good as the trailer.

 

[Rad Party God]

I enjoyed it, smartly cut and I'm sure Edgar Wright would approve.

Judging for some comments in YouTube, he did indeed.

OT: Meh, it's well done and all and I haven't seen the movie yet, but it didn't quite "get me" as the Dead Island trailer did. Although after watching it, I just had one of those "what if..." moments and I realised how depressing and hard a zombie apocalypse would be.

 

[Lukeje]

OK, I actually thought that was better than the Dead Island trailer, but maybe that's just me. Maybe I feel more affected by Nick Frost being eaten by zombies than a little girl?

 

[Deshin]

... am I the only one who didn't even bat an eyelid at the Dead Island trailer?

I was more focused on the seemingly non-existant incubation period from bite to reanimation and the excessive speed of the horde being inconsistent due to necrotic or damaged ligaments...

... on second thoughts, reading what I just wrote, what's wrong with me...

 

[Layzor]

I don't get the buzz around this trailer. It's just a rendered trailer for a zombie game, we have loads of those and this could easily just be the trailer for the next L4D or Dead Rising. Nothing sets it apart from anything else and I havent seen any gameplay footage to show any hints of quality.

 

[Xanadu84]

Funny, but they take the most serious part of the movie, the stuff that was actually sad and dramatic, and then remove all of the dialog that interjected humor. That stuff, even from a comedy movie, is sad even without the backwards stuff and sad music.

Also, one small criticism: The Dead Island trailer was all about the little girl. You know she dies. Then it shows what happened to lead up to her death, and slowly realizing in a Memento-like way all the actions that were taking up with the inevitable conclusion of the girls death. Inter-cut with this slow revelation of her journy from being doomed to death is the girl being chased in forward motion, what lead up to the point where she became doomed. The entire video focuses on the tragedy of a single death. A single death up close is what seperates the serious and dramatic moment of the trailer from the fun violence of most zombie stuff, where there are a constant string of deaths, so it is very poignent. This film, however, first focuses on Nick Frosts death. Then, Simon Peggs reaction. Then the death of a random character. Then Simons mom. Its all over the place and unfocused, so its no where near as emotionally jarring. Im fully aware that thats deconstructing a funny internet video way too much, but still.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Me likely this video. I expect this sorta thign to turn into a craze soon

 

[teebeeohh]

as if shaun of the dead needed to be any more awesome.

 

[SeanTheSheep]

as much as i like shawn of the dead.

i am already sick to the back teeth of dead island and the frenzy around its trailer.
will now be avoiding the game on these grounds.

You have no idea how much I want to rip your throat out with my teeth right now.
It's in the title, it's in the name of the video, it's at the end of the video.

But you STILL manage to use the single most idiotic spelling possible.[footnote] I apologise to those whose names are spelt in such a way, but it's true.[/footnote]

OT: This was rather good, but I feel that it could have been done better. Maybe that's just me being a perfectionist, but I think it felt a little stitched together.
I'd also have liked for it to have had the forward with audio/slow motion backwards with piano cuts.

In all, I think that this could be an interesting new internet video thing: Various otherwise monotonous video clips in slow motion backwards to slow piano music.