Shaun of the dead is a hybrid film between rom-com and zombie horror and effectively uses tropes and conventions of both genres to push the narrative of the film having a rom-com and zombie narrative run alongside and intertwine with each other throughout the film. The film establishes equilibrium in the rom-com narrative immediately upon the opening of the film with many elements of film form including mis-en-scene. The film opens with a conversation between Shaun and Liz, the two main characters of the rom-com narrative, as Liz discusses her discontent with the couple’s current lifestyle. This discontent comes from many things such as Shaun's relationship with Ed seen framed between the couple and interrupting Liz's sentences with vulgar comments. We also see an issue between Shaun and Liz's flatmates Dianna and Dave, shown next to Liz while Dave constantly interrupts to ridicule Shaun on how he is handling the relationship. All this conversation is also being given to an absent Shaun as he appears to barely be listening and is set in the Winchester, the pub the group spends most of their time at. This sets up the equilibrium of the rom-com narrative, a discontent couple with issues and being held back by friends. This is also indirectly the equilibrium of the zombie horror narrative as there are no zombies and society is going on as normal. This is also shown with the scene of Shaun going to the shop in the morning, in an extended pan shot follows him on a very standard routine walk to the corner shop that Shaun seems desensitised to. The slow breaking of equilibrium of the zombie narrative subtlety occurs in the background of the rom-com narrative as that is all that Shaun is focused on. This is entirely done through mis-en-scene While getting flowers for his mum we see a stereotypical zombie across the street that he only focuses on for a second as the florist distracts him. He also sees a newspaper on the counter of the corner shop featuring the zombie genre trope of a virus which he is then distracted by the shopkeeper. There are also 2 scenes on a bus where all the people surrounding Shaun appear ill or zombie like around him. This use of mis-en-scene shows the slow move away from equilibrium in the zombie narrative while Shaun tries to maintain it in the rom-com narrative. During Shaun’s busy day he forgets to keep a promise to Liz as he forgets to book a table for a restaurant. This leads to the main breaking of equilibrium with the rom-com trope of Shaun being dumped by Liz. This is followed up by a bar binge at the Winchester where we see our first real zombie which is still ignored by Shaun. We see a full disruption of equilibrium when Shaun goes on his walk to the corner shop, in a scene mirroring the first one we see society in ruin, which is still ignored by Shaun. The zombie apocalypse is only realised by Shaun when he has to kill a zombie in his back garden. The zombies are actually a catalyst for the new equilibrium as the two narratives intertwine when all the characters have to survive the apocalypse together, resulting in everyone other than Shaun and Liz dead, them as a happy couple and Ed as a pet zombie in the garden.
