In The Nature of Horror, Noel Carroll explains that the elements that make horror frightening to us are its

impurity, incompletion, and abnormality. Zombies, in the present and past movies all have had these types of attributes. In Shaun of the Dead, zombies are used to portray a horror theme as well as tying in comedy to make it stand out. A movie about a man named Shaun who tries to get his girlfriend back by trying to save the world from zombies. In the end, Shaun and his girlfriend Liz end up surviving and are rescued by the army while all of his other friends and family has died off. The twist though, is the world is saved when society trains the zombies to be used for tools and entertainment. Normally when horror comes up, frightening things are thought of. Comedy is not usually mixed in with horror films which makes Shaun of the Dead stand out. Some genre conventions used in the movie that follow the usual image of zombies are being suspenseful, eating human flesh and the humans being the only target. However, Shaun and his buddy Ed portray a sarcastic tone that the zombie apocalypse will blow over and everything will be alright. Comedy or satire is not a usual convention in horror/zombie movies. Around the middle of the movie when the apocalypse has struck, Shaun walks out of his house to go to the store. Shaun, being as clueless as he is does not notice that the streets and everything has been abandoned. The zombies are walking around and he is just looking down the whole time. As he walks in the store, the cashier is not standing at the register and Shaun goes to pick up a soda. He does not even notice that there has been a pair of bloody hands wiped on the screen door of the refrigerator. After he leaves the store, a homeless man that always asks him for change has turned into a zombie and goes to ask Shaun for change, yet again Shaun is clueless about this apocalypse happening around him and avoids the man. The scene is a following shot because the camera follows Shaun continuously through the whole scene. It

makes the viewer focus on him and his distraction from the world around him. Also the music and the phone ringing in the background build suspense for the viewers and has them constantly thinking what is going to happen next. This is a typical convention in horror movies because the viewer is waiting for a horrific part. It is building suspense as Shaun takes every step. In The Nature of Horror, Carroll states "Novels, films, plays, paintings, and so on that are grouped under the label of "horror" are identified according to a different sort of criterion. Like suspense novels or mystery novels, novels are denominated horrific in respect of their intended capacity to provoke a certain affective response. Indeed, the genres of suspense, mystery, and horror derive their very names from the affects they are intended to promote-a sense of suspense, a sense of mystery, and a sense of horror"(Carroll 54). As does the part where Shaun is walking build up suspense towards the climax. As the movie progresses, Shaun realizes that he needs to save his x-girlfriend, mother and the rest of his friends. He decides to take them to the pub where he thinks they will be safe. He arrives with his friend Ed, his mother, his x-girlfriend, and a few other members. As they are waiting for Shaun to figure out a plan, Ed blasts the Karaoke machine and gives away the hide out to the zombies. The zombies start gathering around the pub trying to get in. At this point, Shaun and his group are the only humans remaining and are the targets for the zombies. This is another typical convention where the humans are the only targets. As well as a few moments later, the zombies break the window and grab one of the guys and rip his guts out and start eating them. These two conventions are very big as they appear in most if not all of the zombie movies. When Shaun has realized that he needs to save everybody, he is sitting on his couch with his pal Ed. He talks to him about how he will go get his girlfriend, then go pick up his mom and then go to the pub and wait until it all blows over. He is not stressed out that there is a zombie

apocalypse happening. He is just acting like it is another regular day and he will wake up and it will be all over. In reality, it is not going to be over, it is actually just beginning. This satirical convention that the director is using makes this movie stand out. It is not like a typical zombie movie where everybody is panicking and running around trying to get away from the zombie. It uses a comedic standpoint to show that the character is not worried and believes that he will save everybody. This genre convention is not used in other zombie movies because it mixes satire and horror together which is not seen in these types of movies. Shaun of the Dead is still considered to be part of the zombie genre. The characters have to switch into survival mode and escape the zombies as they grow in masses. The horror part is still there with the blood and gore and zombies eating the flesh of humans. What sets Shaun of the Dead apart from other zombie movies is that it uses satire along with the horror to make fun of the zombies. Overall, the movie has similarities and differences between other zombie movies and is considered a zomcom. Works Cited Prunes, Mariano, Michael Raine, and Mary Litch. "Yale Film Studies." Film Analysis. 27 August 2002. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Carroll, Noel. The Nature of Horror. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 46.1 (1987) 51-59. Web.