Research - Opening of Zombie Genre

Zombieland

One of the highest grossing zombie films recently, along with World War Z, I chose to analyse this film's opening for ideas on my own final piece. It appeals to the same demographic as me and the monetary success indicates that it was a 'good film', therefore the opening might be of some use to me.



The opening conforms to the conventions of opening credits, crediting those involved in the normal order. It begins with some distorted imagery from a handheld camera to help indicate the fall of society, which I could certainly include in my own opening. The text is added to scenes of society's fall in order to establish the narrative and while I do find it interesting due to how the text interacts with the scene - being knocked or smashed - I do not feel as though it is as atmospheric in creating a more realistic narrative. This is perhaps due to  how self-aware the concept is in breaking the fourth wall and interacting with the audience; the narration is important to the narrative obviously but is light-hearted enough to act almost as a parody.

The use of slow-motion, along with the heavy metal music, also adds to the comedy of the film in how exaggerated it all is. The music's heavy tone might appear to contrast with the clips in the montage, as some are quite comedic, but I feel that it gives the opening that edginess it needs in order to portray the chaos on screen.

Interestingly, the mise-en-scene indicates that the various characters are 'normal' - all affected by the outbreak. Even the make up for the zombies is impressively realistic, further immersing the audience. It is common to have an 'everyman' for a hero in zombie films and while the opening suggests the incompetence of such characters in the deaths of many 'normal' citizens, the protagonist is a white youth who is civilised and ordinary despite the zombie outbreak - lending the film to the same conventions of other zombie films. Additionally, the use of a white male protagonist might suggest negative connotations due to the suggested under-representation of women and other ethnic groups in the media, it certainly presents youth positively in how moral the protagonist is. The narration shows how he is willing to share experience with the viewer, offering tips; I would certainly like to represent the younger demographic positively in my film, especially given how the demographic makes up most of the consumers of zombie media.

Personally I like this opening as it seems to correctly adhere to the conventions of an opening title sequence but also it is very good visually. The narration relates to the scenes shown and, while the scenes are quite graphic, the narration offers a comedic contrast which I find interesting but it could be difficult to pull off. The use of violence is generally used well as such scenes carry on throughout the film, preparing the audience well.