With the release of Scott Pilgrim vs The World this week, Edgar Wright moves from the realm of satire into something much larger in scope. Something of both a comic book movie and a fever dream action-comedy, Scott Pilgrim is the story of a young hipster who meets the girl of his dreams only to discover that to win her heart, he must first defeat her seven evil exes. It is a lightspeed jump for Wright, who until recently had distinguished himself professionally as this generation’s Zucker Brothers (Airplane, Top Secret, The Kentucky Fried Movie). His wicked sense of humor combined with his ability to tell a very real story while immersed in the tropes of the genres he’s skewering makes him the antithesis of someone like Jason Friedberg or Aaron Seltzer (Epic Movie, Date Movie, Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie). Instead of simply flinging movie references at the screen — or worse, references to the trailers for upcoming movies (as was done in Disaster Movie) — Edgar shows that he not only understands, but loves, the films and genres he is playing with. Here are his three principal works.

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Shaun of the Dead. The single greatest zombie comedy ever made, Wright’s freshman theatrical effort was a zeitgeist of modern comedy. Sharply written and brilliantly executed, this low-budget film featuring Wright’s troupe of actors and close friends (chiefly Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) was made with an incredible amount of heart — every bit of which shows on the screen. Set in George Romero’s “… of the Dead” universe, Shaun of the Dead is careful to not only play by every rule that Romero laid out, but also gets what other zombie knock-offs don’t: the social satire inherent in the films and their metaphor. Shaun is wicked, with razor-sharp commentary going for the jugular of the world we find ourselves in, while lampooning the slacker lifestyle that was up until that point so celebrated in film. Easily his best and most profound work to date, Shaun is a modern classic that has become the benchmark upon which all other horror comedies are measured. The phrase “It’s no Shaun of the Dead,” has become common parlance among critics and horror fans alike.

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Hot Fuzz. Personally, this is my favorite of Wright’s works — but I certainly understand why it hasn’t gained the cultural traction that Shaun has. Shaun had the advantage of surfing on the wave of cresting zombie film popularity, hitting just as excitement about zombie films was growing. Hot Fuzz hit during a period in which the action film was falling out of favor — having its fun with films that are definitely genre classics, but not yet to the level of feverish nostalgia as Romero’s films have achieved. Every bit as funny and scathing as its predecessor, Hot Fuzz has better, funnier death scenes, a great cast of hilarious characters, and some action scenes that are deliciously righteous. Something tells me this will be the film that cineastes dig up in a decade or so and see as the perfect encapsulation of ’80s-early ’00s action filmmaking. It nails everything, milking the buddy cop subgenre for all it is worth, long before Kevin Smith or Adam McKay came along to disturb its corpse. While their efforts may inspire some laughs, neither director comes close to getting it right like Edgar does.

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Spaced. Wright’s two-season, 14-episode television series about an unlikely pair of roommates pretending to be married so they can live in a nice, low-rent apartment in a building full of kooks. Each episode is a parody of something, and the show is a veritable pop quiz of movie knowledge. The more movies you’ve seen, the funnier the show becomes, stumping even veteran movie trivia nerds with subtle or obscure references. Very funny, the show introduced us to a number of great comedians, many of whom Wright continues to work with today. If you’ve never seen this wonderful work of genius, scope them over here at Hulu.

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Tags: edgar wright, hot fuzz, michael cera, scott pilgrim, shaun of the dead