What is a classic? Some consider the word in its most traditional form when using it in the context of film: movies made over fifty years ago, usually in black and white, usually overflowing with critical and popular esteem.

I like to think of the term in a broader sense, disregarding the time in which it was produced and whether or not it won any awards or are on any ‘best-of’ lists. No, a classic to me is something that has or will stand the test of time because of its brilliance, or its entertainment value, or its strong characterization, etc. And a movie like Shaun of the Dead has all of these things and more.

At first, it may seem like a silly zombie movie, but Shaun of the Dead, in all of its silliness, may actually be one of the most perfect movies ever made.

Shaun is a lazy television salesman, too caught up in the routine of his life to notice that he’s on the verge of losing his girlfriend, he’s neglecting his family, and, oh yeah, there is a horrible zombie outbreak. Fighting off the zombies in his favorite pub, The Winchester, Shaun has to come to terms with his own mortality and the loss of the people that he loves. At its heart, Shaun of the Dead is a movie about accepting one’s adulthood, and all the varied and often scary implications of that.

Going back to the idea of ‘classic’, if we apply the idea of the ‘classic’ movie or literary structure to the film, it has very strongly delineated acts and the main character, Shaun, goes through an inner emotional journey that reflects and is affected by his greater outer journey. This is some Chekov-level sh*t.

More than that, though, the movie is thoroughly and in every single scene absolutely entertaining. It incorporates aspects of different genres of film from the zombie movie, obviously, to romantic comedy (it’s even billed as a ‘zom rom com’), to a family drama, to a buddy film.

The director, Edgar Wright, and Simon Pegg, who plays Shaun and helped to write the script, is so good at setting up jokes and paying off what seems like throwaway plot points. In fact, it’s something that Wright and Pegg pull off to great effect in their second movie together, Hot Fuzz, as well.

What it comes down to, though, is that I can watch Shaun of the Dead over and over and still laugh at all the right parts, still gasp at all the right parts, and still tear up when I’m supposed to, even though I know how the movie ends and could probably quote it beginning to end if I had to. I can’t think of a single thing I would change in this movie and I can’t really say that about many other movies, even my very favorites. I will stand by my assertion that this is an absolutely perfect film and should be considered as such even outside the somewhat limiting horror genre. Especially because it subverts all of the familiar constructs of that genre so beautifully. It’s brilliant, entertaining, hilarious, shocking, and even sweet. It’s a classic.