Zombie Nation

The dead will walk tonight when Film on the Rocks presents Shaun of the Dead, one of the finest zombie movies ever made. The film takes the standard tropes of zombie filmdom — the chaos that ensues when dead people start inexplicably walking around, hungry for human flesh — and integrates them into a sweet romantic comedy/buddy movie. After being dumped by his longtime girlfriend for lacking ambition, drive and plans for the future, Shaun and his roommate, Ed, go on a bender and awaken to find the world turned upside down. Faced with a zombie apocalypse, they round up the girl, Shaun’s mom and a couple of friends and head for the safest place they know: the pub. Slapstick physical humor, hilarious sight gags and even a musical number manage to find their way in, without ever disrupting the movie’s premise.

Get to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway in Morrison, around 6 p.m. to make the most of the evening. Starting at 7, enjoy a zombie-themed set from the Boulder Acoustic Society, then a zombie costume contest for the audience right before the film starts at dusk.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the show; purchase yours at all King Soopers locations or online at www.redrocksonline.com. And if all this celebration of flesh-eating ghouls stirs a hunger within you for more, you’re in luck: Shaun kicks off a series of seven zombie films to be shown at Starz FilmCenter. For details, call 303-595-3456 or visit www.denverfilm.org.
Mon., June 30, 2008