Shaun of the dead

 

Shaun of the dead

In this film the genre is hybridized between a comedy and also a horror. This is evident because of the supernatural theme of zombies. The audience can tell by the end of the opening scene that this is a comedy because of the actor Simon Pegg. He is in many comedy films which makes the audience recognise the genre quickly. The film is mainly about a group of people fighting off zombies making this a horror also. As the film titles are introduced you can tell that there will be zombies in this film as there are a group of teenagers that appear to be zombies. The audience can tell this by the way the character is walking.

 

 

The types of shots in this opening are a range between medium shots and long shots. The long shots are there to create the characters personality to the audience as in the opening when the titles are in the shot the audience can immediately tell that the people present are zombies by the way they are dressed and also by their body language. In this case the people who seem to be teenagers as they are in hoodies and loose fitting clothes are zombies as their posture is slouched and also they are very slow at walking. A medium shot is used to show the protagonist and what his living is like. The camera then pans out into a long shot which we see he has a flat mate who is sat on the sofa and playing a video game. This makes the audience think that the protagonist does not work. Also the camera shot allows the audience to see the flat and the way the two men are living. In this case, the flat is a mess and also there are beer cans scattered around the room suggesting that maybe they both like to drink and have a good time. The way they are both dressed in the long shot suggests that neither of them go to work and that the one of the sofa slouches around all day and doesn't do anything for a living. However, this is not the case as when the protagonist sits down the other male says "you've got work" suggesting that this man stays at home and depends on the working man for money. However, because the house is such a mess the audience is led to believe that the money all goes towards drink and take-away’s. This may stereotype males within the age group as they are always expected that they waste all money on alcohol and nothing important.

 

 

The sound in this opening is a creepy yet up-beat music which suggests that in a way this is a horror however it may be a comedy at the same time. This is a good way to make the audience engaged into the film because then they don't fully know the genre of the film yet and may want to watch on to see what the film is about and also feel a part of it. They may feel like they are part of film as they will feel the character and as the film is in the protagonist’s perspective, they will feel like they are in the same position as the protagonist in whatever he might be facing at the time. The sound is also shown as the camera is showing the towns with zombies roaming the streets. This will engage the audience as they will be thinking about how the music fits to the theme of zombies and supernatural.
 

The opening of this film is good however it is hard for the audience to tell the genre if they haven't seen the film before. I think that because it has Simon Pegg in, people will watch it thinking that this is a comedy film when actually it has a horror theme alongside it. This may attract a wider audience as the film will open up to different genres which will suit different people and what they like. However, some people who like horrors may not want comedy linked in with it and the audience that watch comedies are generally female suggesting that putting a horror alongside the film will mean that they probably will not enjoy the film as much.