Shaun of the Dead Opening two minutes

The genre of Shaun of the dead on the surface is a comedy, but in more detail there are shades of fictional horror and gore. In the opening two minutes they have the cliche of the lazy 'dumb' flat mate played by Nick Frost, who when you see him is sat in a messy living room, slumped on the sofa with three days stubble, playing a games console. Mise-en-scene in the costumes (scruffy clothes) and appearance represents the comedic cliche.

The genre of Horror is ever so slightly represented in the opening two minutes as the genre is often hard to establish at the beginning of films, but the scene at around 39 seconds when Shaun (played by Simon Pegg) is getting ready for work in the bathroom, looks in the mirror as he straightens his tie, he tilts the mirror ever so slightly to reveal the reflection of their other flat mate, who is tall, dark haired and smartly dressed. The fact that they show this character in the mirror as opposed to panning the camera to him, suggests a slight spookiness about the film and at this point in the film could act as a sign of things to come.

The scene after this is a series of close ups at fast paced, beginning with a spreading knife being pulled out of a draw, spreading jam on a slice of toast, and then to spoon stirring a cup of tea, and finally a carton of milk being placed back into the fridge. The fast paced series of shots suggests the gore and shock of the film at the early stage, and the jam being spread on the toast could represent blood, and for first time viewers they may not know it but there is a lot of blood in the film, so the jam could act as an early hint.

Apart from the cliches of the lazy flat mate, there isn't any hints that the film is a comedy up until Pete, the most mature of the flatmates puts his blazor on ready to leave for work, but then turns around to reveal pieces of paper that have been stuck on his back to reveal the words 'I am a prick'. This is the first hint that suggests the film is also a comedy.