Pierce felt that the choice of weapons was amusing, and suggested that the film's real strength was the characterisation of the unhappy leads, but also wrote that the climax at the pub was lacking in horror and comedy compared to the rest of the film. Like Pierce, Ide felt that there is "a convincing emotional depth" despite the comedy; she similarly noted that the second half was slower, but chalked this up to being darker in tone at the climax. She praised the special effects make-up and prosthetics created by Stuart Conran. Keith Phipps of "The A.V. Club" enjoyed the record-throwing scene, citing it as an example of where the film "doesn't mind putting in extra work for its laughs", as it comes off funnier with Shaun and Ed debating which records they sacrifice rather than throwing indiscriminately. He found Wright's technical skills to be impressive, adding that Wright left the spotlight to the performances rather than the camerawork, but found the finale to be disappointingly played straight.