Genre Question and 'Shaun of the Dead'

 Zombie Horror conventions in the clip:

- Tight community of protagonists

- Isolation

- Contrast editing (slow and fast)

- Urban, but deserted, locations - subverted

- Survival

- Focus on head to kill a zombie

- Less well lit / low lighting

Comedy conventions in the clip:

- Usually suburban setting

- Well lit and natural

We can see that the film 'Shaun Of The Dead' is a hybrid of a horror and a comedy film. We see this in the 'Don't stop me know scene' as a convention is the use of lighting as the  lighting is mixed with many places in the scene being darker than others, applying a sense of contrast between the two genres that can change very quickly. The darkness shows the tension of a horror film along with the shadows of the zombies. The scene features a lot of jump cuts making the pace of the scene feel faster along with the timing and use of the diabetic sound of 'Don't stop me now' by Queen.

Another micro feature that is used in the scene to show how the film is a hybrid between a horror and a comedy film because the group of characters are all stranded together in a pub surrounded by a group of zombies. This makes it have a horror like side as they are left to their own devices in order to try and escape, however as a group of characters they aren't too affected by the situation that they are in as they are still able to crack jokes despite the situation they are in.

Another way the film can be seen as a hybrid is the violence used in the start of the scene where three of them are trying to kill the first zombie spotted inside the bar. This is effective since they are all whacking the zombie with the pool cues on time with the beat of the song which has quite a comedic sense around it. However this can also be seen as a horror convention since they are acting with violence in order to try and save themselves from being infected by the zombie. They also mainly tend to aim for the head which is commonly known to be more affective when trying to kill something.

They also use the effect of physical comedy in order to create a divide between the two genres in the scene. For example when the woman chucks the dart in his head on accident causing him to be in pain at the same time. This is a good example of the film being a hybrid since the characters are involved in violence but will still laugh and joke about it despite what's happening around them.

The kind of survival in this film also shows how its a hybrid as they are surviving against a pack of zombies, however they are in a pub with quite a fair amount of resources to help them through it. This shows how the film is a hybrid as they are not surviving in terms of food, water and shelter however its trying to get out of the isolated pub from all the zombies.