Shaun of the Dead opening analysis

Shot 1:


In this shot, a man is pushing some trolleys into a trolley-parking area. While he is not currently a member of the living dead, his blank expression does make him appear rather zombie-like. The empty area may be meant to make readers wonder: "What happened to everyone else?"

Shot 2:


In this shot, every single cashier is doing exactly the same thing in exactly the same way, with blank expressions as if they are sleepwalking, making them seem even more like zombies, which is the theme of the film. The long line may represent how many of us are inclined to simply go about our lives in a zombie-like fasion.

Shot 3:

In this shot, again, blank expressions, simultaneous actions. The characters may just be tired, but the zombie similarities are present.


Shot 4:

 This shot has an ally full of people acting like zombies, when in fact, they are (probably) very much alive. The scattered papers indicate a messy area (which makes sense in a zombie collapse, even if it hasn't happened yet.) The title of the film is on the ground, with the scattered papers, presented in  a simple manner as white text. The zombie-like movements in this and the previous shots (as well as the title of the film) are all meant to foreshadow the zombie apocalypse.


Shot 5:

 In this shot, only being able to see Simon Pegg's silhouette and feet, combined with his unusual breathing make him appear similar to a zombie, however, considering that he is the protagonist, and that everyone else who looks like a zombie in the opening isn't one, this shot was not designed to fool anyone.

Shot 6:

 Our establishing character shot. The camera moves up to Shaun's face, where he is yawning, (explaining his weird breathing) wearing an unclean T-shirt and shorts. This shows us that Shaun clearly is a lazy person, and that he planned on spending that particular day doing absolutely nothing.


Shot 7:

 This shot introduces us to Nick Frost's character, Ed, who is wearing similar clothing to Shaun, and is currently playing a video-game. The untidy room shows us that Shaun and Ed are indeed, lazy, and that they content to spend an idle life, slobbing about and not caring about life.

Shot 8:

Shaun stepping over Ed like this shows us two things. One, that Ed and Shaun are comfortable in each-other's presence, and two, that Ed is too lazy to let Shaun past by moving his legs, and that Shaun is perfectly used to this.

Shot 9:

In this shot Shaun is just told that he has to go to work. The sigh coming from Shaun tells us that he does not enjoy his job, and the fact that Ed remains sitting tells us that Shaun is the one providing the income for the house while he just sits there and plays videogames in his idle life.

Shaun of the dead is one of my favorite films, and definitely my second favorite in the Cornetto trilogy after Hot Fuzz. If you haven't seen it yet, the trilogy goes: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, then At Worlds End. The films stories are unrelated to eachother, but they do all have similarities, and two consistent actors. I would say that it's my favorite film trilogy I have ever seen. There are many clever details making re-watching a fun experience.

Alex Harris 29/09/2016

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