Edgar Wright’s ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ Is the Fried Gold Standard for Genre Mixology
The Scoop features personal essays on movie-centric topics.
By Elliott Cuff
Recent action comedies have struggled to draw in huge numbers at the box office. Thus far in 2024, The Fall Guy barely turned a profit and Argylle failed to break even, despite both films being made by filmmakers well-versed in their respective wheelhouses. Hollywood’s net earnings have diminished over time, and several genres have become more unreliable as successful moneymakers—and that’s before critical reception is factored in.
On top of that, the quick turnaround time from theatrical release to video-on-demand or streaming debut ensures that certain movies aren’t able to leave a lasting cultural impact—enjoyable in the moment, perhaps, but immediately forgotten and lost in the streaming shuffle.
But that’s not the case for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End, the three films in Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (named for each film’s passing reference to a Cornetto ice cream). Each film is effective in its own right, combining Wright’s signature wit, stylised editing, uniquely British eccentricities, and the indelible pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to fine effect.
Beyond sharing common DNA, however, each film takes the building blocks of comedy and action and brilliantly melds them together with external influences to tell human stories about connection, friendship, and achieving maturity in a unique way: Shaun of the Dead, its title a nod to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, is an ode to the zombie flick; Hot Fuzz is a buddy cop movie with shades of murder mystery and the police procedural; and The World’s End is an end-of-the-world (who’d have guessed?) alien sci-fi romp.
Here’s why Edgar Wright’s talent for genre mixology is so exceptional—and enduring.
The Comedy of Undead Carnage
Wright didn’t have a trilogy in mind when he made Shaun of the Dead. It wasn’t until after Hot Fuzz debuted that Wright was even made aware of their connective tissue, jokingly riffing on Krzysztof Kieślowski’s famed Three Colours trilogy during a press junket. In Shaun of the Dead, the Cornetto was used as a hangover cure, drawing from Wright’s real-life experiences, and beyond that the motif was primarily used as a (failed) tactic to elicit more free ice cream at the Hot Fuzz wrap party.
Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead.
Shaun of the Dead is more of a zom-com than your more traditional action-based zombie media (The Walking Dead it most certainly is not). Pegg and Frost are best friends who don’t have their lives together; the former is far too content to live his life humbly, spending his evenings wasting away in the local pub, while the latter is a slacker who deals drugs and plays video games. Neither have ambition or prospects, and much of the comedy derives from their inability to formulate seemingly competent survival plans once the zombie threat arises.
Wright takes a simple narrative idea about protecting loved ones and finding a safe space to ride out the end of the world, and he weaves authentic comedy throughout while never failing to embrace the danger posed by the zombie outbreak. Both Shaun and Ed are relatable characters, as is Shaun’s ex-girlfriend Liz, and the authenticity of those characters roots us in their plight, allowing us to enjoy the moments of humor that shine through and soak up the gloriousness of undead carnage.
Cop Clichés and Quiet Country Living
Hot Fuzz, on the other hand, is a much more natural combination of laughs and action. This time Pegg plays a straight-laced action hero who’s forced by his superiors to relocate from London to the Gloucestershire countryside on account of him being too good at his job, while Frost is the bumbling, inexperienced country boy police officer—naive but with a heart of gold.
Hot Fuzz is a clear-cut homage to buddy cop action cinema, lovingly cycling through an endless stream of genre clichés. Wright fills out the supporting cast with eclectic characters, each of whom routinely spits out iconic lines of dialogue that have lived in my consciousness for as long as memory serves. Choosing a more rural setting for Hot Fuzz allowed Wright to spotlight a different aspect of British life, with the film wryly exploring quiet country living through the perspective of a city man out of his element.
But there’s more to the sophomore genre mash-up than cheap laughs. With characters played by Paddy Considine, Rafe Spall, Olivia Colman, and Jim Broadbent, each near-caricature player possesses depth and heart beneath their funny exterior, and every actor finds their place once the action aspects are accentuated and the hard-nosed police work takes center stage. Murder mystery intrigue drives Hot Fuzz just as much as comedy does, and no one could watch the third-act action finale and doubt Wright’s genre credentials.
An Apocalyptic Pub Crawl
Released in 2013 as the concluding chapter of the unofficial trilogy, The World’s End is perhaps Wright’s most human story—simple yet high-concept, with emotion bubbling under the surface. Presented initially as a comedy with quasi-stoner qualities, with herb swapped for amber nectar, The World’s End takes a hard sci-fi turn and spirals into apocalyptic insanity.
Pegg is Gary King, a washout of a man with plenty of personal struggles attempting to relive his youth, while Frost is Andy, one of four childhood friends of Gary’s, now grown and mature, who begrudgingly joins him on his quest to complete the Golden Mile, a fabled pub crawl in their hometown of Newton Haven.
The World’s End further underscores the theme of perpetual adolescence that had been ever-present in the two films that came before it, but here it’s darker and far more ambitious. Wright builds the movie as an outwardly comedic piece, but one that clearly has something going on in the background, referring both to the alien plot twist and the revelation about Gary’s mental health.
There are action and laughs-a-plenty, with a handful of wildly energetic sequences of comical violence and ink-soaked mayhem, but it also notably takes the time to explore its three-dimensional characters—particularly Gary as the tragic de facto leader of the group who wants nothing more than to keep the party going.
The Wright Stuff
None of these films take themselves too seriously. But through intelligent scripting and performances that match the tone of the material, Wright packs enough heart behind the humor to balance the silliness and veneer of each character with a deeper substance.
He also integrates comedy and energetic action so seamlessly that one couldn’t exist without the other. This combination similarly defines several of his other works, particularly Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver. Wright’s style became his signature, and his auteur roots can be traced back to his humble beginnings, making cinematic gold dust in Letchworth, Wells, and Crouch End.
Beyond any other reason though, the Cornetto trilogy retains cultural significance because each movie is exceptional at what it sought to achieve. Shaun of the Dead is the strongest zom-com action horror on the market. Hot Fuzz both skewers and salutes the buddy cop genre like no other. And The World’s End uniquely blends madcap sci-fi action with hilarious humor and heartfelt characters.
Wright is a master, and his genre-bending movies serve as evidential proof. How’s that for a slice of fried gold?
Elliott Cuff is a writer, journalist, and film enthusiast. Follow him on Instagram @elliottlovesmovies.