Opening Scene Analysis: Zombieland

Opening Scene Analysis - Zombieland

This film is a horror genre because it features zombies, gore and violence however it's a comedy as well; it includes the humorous voice, which has a step to step guide of how to survive the apocalypse. The person who we assume is the protagonist makes jokes and doesn't take it seriously. The narrative tells the audience that it is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The narrative suggests that the story is going to be about survival but more of a comedy aspect to it.

As the scene introduces itself, there is a loud music playing which a non-diegetic sound as it's not coming from the world of the film. The music playing in the background is the American national anthem however it sounds quite distorted which could express the destruction in the world. After the music stops playing the audience begin to hear the sounds of what's happening in the surroundings such as cars burning and groans from the zombies.

During the first scene the camera is in the first person perspective so they audience can be enter their world. At the beginning of the scene there is a  canted close up of the American flag with the background out of focus but slowly regains focus and rotates around so it’s upright so the audience are able to see the car is upside down and the white house in flames. The camera pans downwards which could mean that the filming person is too weak to stand ups he could have been attacked so he shows the destructed surrounding. Suddenly the screen begins to go static then the camera pans toward the zombie at a high angle which suggests that the zombie is more powerful than the guy filming. The guys tries to flee from the zombie however he gets attacked then the camera shot turns into a close up of the zombie’s horrid face which shows him eating the camera guy’s flesh in close detail which may disgust the audience. It fades into a bird's eye view of the earth to show that the zombies are spreading all over the world. Then it zooms toward the earth again showing an overweight man trying to run away for the zombie, his facial expression shows that he’s terrified. This is a stereotypical character in horror movies because the weak always die in the beginning. During the chases of the humans; a long shot is used so it allows the audiences to see the chaos and damages of the apocalypse the scene cuts into a medium shot showing the cars crashing into each other as everyone is trying to escape from the zombie. Then the scene cuts into a medium shot of a man sitting in toilet which suggests that he’s trying to hide from the zombie however it’s not a safe place in the end.