- Directed by Edgar Wright
- Written by Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
- Stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman
- Run Time: 2 Hours, 1 Minute
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayTnvVpj9t4
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s a cop buddy action mystery thriller comedy with just the tiniest pinch of horror hints. That said, it’s got a lot of laughs with a decent body count, and the pieces of the mystery coming together are very clever.
Spoilery Synopsis
Nicholas Angel introduces himself. We see that he’s some kind of supercop, excelling at everything. He’s so good that he makes all the other cops look bad, so they transfer him to a tiny town out in the country. Also, they’re not going to take “No” for an answer. He tells his ex, Janine, who doesn’t really care since he cares more about his job than anything else.
So Nicholas moves to Sandford, a quiet village in the English countryside. He’s… not thrilled to be there. He goes to the pub and meets the Porters, the owners, as well as PC Danny Butterman. He immediately starts causing trouble when he finds a bunch of underage drinkers in the pub– he clears out the whole place. He’s maybe a little overzealous for this kind of posting.
In the morning, he meets Simon Skinner, who owns one of the big stores in town. Next, he goes to the station and meets Inspector Butterman, his new boss, who says this is the safest village in the country. He meets all the other cops, who show him that things aren’t the same outside the city.
That evening, Tom Weaver, the old man who thinks he runs the town, throws a party for Nicholas for the Neighborhood Watch group. The old man has a grudge against “The Living Statue,” a street performer whom no one else cares about at all.
After an awful presentation of “Romeo and Juliet,” Nicholas and Danny walk right past a mysterious hooded figure who later viciously murders the stars of the stage play. Two decapitations are not something that the town cops are really equipped to deal with. But it’s staged to look like a car accident, and Angel is the only one suspicious.
The duo gets called out to an old man with a whole barn full of guns and weapons, which they confiscate. They celebrate later and then carry a drunk home. The hooded killer gets the man immediately after.
At the big church fundraiser, the town reporter tries to talk to Nicholas, but is killed by the masked killer who knocks a pointed piece of masonry down on him.
Nicholas tells his boss that he thinks all the recent deaths are connected, but the inspector prefers to think they were all just accidents. Cue the research montage as the pair discuss all the characters we have met.
Not long after, Nicholas hears all about a big real estate deal in the town from the local florist, who is killed as Nicholas watches. He chases the killer through the greenhouses. All the police still insist that there are so many accidents.
The whole police force goes to arrest Simon Skinner at the grocery store. Nicholas has a whole convoluted theory about Simon and the real estate deal. Except, according to security footage, Simon has a perfect alibi. Now, Nicholas looks like an idiot to everyone.
That evening, Nicholas goes back to his hotel room, and the killer is waiting for him. It’s Michael, Simon’s not-so-smart assistant. He and Simon were working together.
Nicholas runs to the castle, where Simon is there with a whole coven of witches that includes a lot of the townspeople we already know. It’s the whole Neighborhood Watch group! Nicholas walks in and tells them they’re all under arrest.
The Inspector Butterman shows up, and he’s all in with the cultists. This is all about winning the “Best Village” award again. Danny seems to be with them as well, and all Nicholas can do is run away. He falls into an underground pit and sees the bodies of all the people in town that the cult considered bad and killed.
He runs up to Danny for help, and Danny stabs him. But he just faked it to get Nicholas to safety; he doesn’t know anything about the big conspiracy or his father’s involvement.
Nicholas buys some supplies and then comes back in the morning. He goes to the evidence room and stocks up on all the weapons he could ever want. He rides into town on a horse, and everyone sees him coming. We see that all the quaint little villagers are armed to the teeth.
One by one, Danny and Nicholas take out the crazy villagers. The other police show up, and Nicholas tries to explain everything to them. Danny and the Inspector have their family moment, but the rest of the police start to believe him.
Everyone runs to Simon Skinner’s store for the final battle. Butterfield and Simon make a quick getaway, and it’s time for a high-speed chase as the award judges look on in astonishment.
Nicholas and Simon fight in a miniature version of the town like big silly kaijus. Frank Butterfield makes his escape, but the town swan takes him out instead.
The London police want him back now; they’re numbers are slipping. Nicholas decides to stay in the little town now, where he’s learned to have a good time…
Until crazy old Tom shoots Danny and gets trapped under the sea mine and blows up… everyone. But it’s a comedy, and none of our heroes are hurt too badly. There are way more survivors than there should be, and one year later, Nicholas is the new police chief.
Brian’s Commentary
Nicholas’s supercop has no sense of humor or much of a personality, and he reminded me immediately of the main character in “The Wicker Man” from 1973, which is probably not a coincidence.
Timothy Dalton, as Skinner, was an obvious villain, but also a sort of red herring, since the whole town was really the baddies here. Other than him, there are lots of familiar faces here, so that’s a lot of fun in itself.
Still, there’s very little horror here. There’s a serial killer who wears a black robe and looks like Death, as well as a whole group of cultists/witches.
It’s very good, but don’t watch it as a horror movie.
Kevin’s Commentary
This is probably my favorite of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost movies. And it’s really too much of a stretch to call it horror, but that’s okay. It’s really funny and entertaining.