Tease Me, Baby! – The World’s End
In 2005, Edgar Wright made his feature film debut with Shaun of the Dead, a self-proclaimed “Zombie-Rom-Com” penned by himself and Simon Pegg, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It simultaneously parodied and paid tribute to the Zombie genre while being a pretty kick-ass Zombie flick in itself. It became an instant classic.
Hey look, they’re fighting Zombies in a pub!
Two years later, Wright, Pegg, and Frost took on the buddy cop genre in Hot Fuzz. It also became a cult classic. This is my personal favorite of the two.
Hey, they’re fighting baddies in another pub! What are the odds?
Their next film, The World’s End, was teased as the final entry in what has been dubbed by Wright as the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy, otherwise known as the Cornetto Trilogy, due to the use of different flavor Cornetto ice cream cones in both films (Drum Sticks are the American equivalent).
Shaun of the Dead had Strawberry,
Red label for Zombie blood
Hot Fuzz had Classic,
Blue label for Cop uniforms
And presumably The World’s End will have Mint.
Green label for… Minty fresh Alien breath?
And now, 6 years after Fuzz, we have our first peek!
Five friends (Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Eddie Marsan), at Pegg’s insistence, reluctantly attempt to recreate a pub crawl they failed to complete in their youth, which ends at the ominously named “The World’s End” pub.
Yes, one is called “The Famous Cock”
As the night goes on, they start to realize there’s something amiss with the people of the town. Namely that they are all NIGHTMARE FUEL.
“Sir, can I borrow a ligh-HOLY SHIT, AHHHHHH!!!”
First off, I love the casting. Simon Pegg looks quite different from his usual role; he pulls off a punk look, and gets to play the fool.
I tried to find a straight-faced Pegg in this trailer, but I honestly couldn’t.
Pegg’s character seems to be stuck in the past while his old buddies have moved on to more mature, professional lives. It will be interesting to see how his character arc will contrast with the sci-fi nature of the rest of the movie.
We also get Nick Frost, who looks good as ever.
Every time I see Frost in a new part, he inhabits it in a way that is different from his previous roles. Yes, he is almost always the clumsy oaf in some respect, but his characters seem to have range. From a soldier in the Territorial Army, to a down-and-out loser, to a somewhat reluctant cop, he always brings his A game. I cannot wait to see what he does in this film.
Pegg in the back, not giving a single shit.
Oh by the way, in the shot following the above pick, Frost STARTS PUNCHING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE USING BAR STOOLS AS FISTS.
HELL. YES.
After a cameo in Shaun, and speaking role at the beginning and end of Hot Fuzz, it’s great to see Martin Freeman as a full character in this film.
You rock that BlueTooth, Martin!
Paddy Considine is also in this film, whom you may recognize as one of the Andys from Hot Fuzz. Glad to see he makes a return!
DAMN, he cleans up good!
I have to admit, I don’t know much about Eddie Marsan, but I do know I have seen him in other movies. At any rate, I’m sure he’ll be hilarious.
“No, I do not want to get ‘shit faced’.”
And all have good flashback doubles. They manage to resemble their mature adult counterparts whilst looking like they’re out to get stone drunk.
Of course the last of the trilogy wouldn’t be complete without a fence jump!
So without further ado, here’s the complete Blood and Ice Cream Fence Jump compilation!
We aren’t explicitly told what’s going on in this teaser (okay, we kind of are), but I’m going to call it: it’s aliens. Need proof? Here’s a still for ya:
E. T. phone home ON YOUR ASS!
There’s also multiple electric explosions.
What happens when you mix Mentos and Jager bombs.
And what looks like extra terrestrial blood on Simon Pegg’s face.
I’m perfectly okay with aliens! Zombie, Buddy Cop, and Sci-fi make for a really good action flick triple feature! I would pay money to see these three films shown back-to-back-to-back in a theater in an afternoon. I’m really hoping AMC, Alamo Draft House, and/or others will do just that for this film’s release. If not, I’m going to watch Shaun and Fuzz of my own accord right before seeing The World’s End, and I encourage you to do the same! Come on, let’s get annihilated!
I leave you with this awesome pic of Simon Pegg flipping a double bird.