Zombie Films - Genre Research

Zombie Films

My group has decided to do a zombie-based film.  To get an idea on what personalities our characters should adopt, what camera angles to use and the ways we could edit, I watched several movies of the same genre to give me an insight into these stereotypical elements.

Classic narratives

“Shaun of the Dead”

One night Shaun and his friend, Ed, go out to pub (‘Winchester’) to drown the sorrows of Shaun being dumped by his girlfriend, Liz. Next morning they Shaun wakes up, unfortunately he is too hung-over to notice the whole town is full of zombies. They see on the news that their town has been taken over by zombies, coincidentally; their house is attack imminently after the news report has ended. The two friends fight off the zombies bombarding their house using tools that were located in the Shaun’s shed. They recover other survivors and base themselves in the pub that they were at the night before. The zombies, retreat for several hours as they are unaware of the location of the survivors.

Ed, finally gives away the location however, Shaun has found a rifle in the pub. He uses this to fight of the zombies. As he is doing this, his mother reveals she has been bit by a zombie in the prior scene. Unfortunately she becomes a zombie and Shaun is forced to kill her. A few of the survivors are killed and Shaun and his ex-girlfriend Liz flee to the cellar of the pub. They find an escape route and end up on the street. This happens just as the British army arrive.

There is an ellipsis to six months after the outbreak. Life is back to normal and the remaining zombies are used a cheap labour. Shaun and Liz are also back together.

“The Crazies”

Based in Iowa, The Sheriff, David, his wife Judy and the local doctor have all witness residents exhibiting bizarre behaviour. When investigating the dead remains of a pilot found in the swamp they come across a submerged military aircraft. They soon discover the plane contaminated the town’s drinking water supply. Against orders, David shuts down the town waters supply.

Soon after the army arrives, they begin testing residents to see if they are contaminated. Judy is tested positive and is separated from David. The infected residents breached the walls of the ‘prison’ that they were forced into. Causing the army to evacuate.

David escapes evacuation to save his wife. He does so and re-joins his deputy sheriff, Russell, who is with his girlfriend. The four take shelter in the farm with a man named Scotty and his mother. The army raids the farms and kills Scotty and his mother. Along with these deaths, the Russell’s girlfriend is killed by the infected.  David is told the army has been sent to kill anyone who has possibly been exposed to the disease cause by the water.  

After showing aggressive behaviour Russell comes to the conclusion he too is infected. He begs David and Judy to let him continue with them. They let him, but Russell is later killed by the army. He was acting as a decoy so David and Judy were able to sneak past the barricade.  The film ends with David and Judy walking into the adjacent town.  In the credits a news program is being showed it reports that an explosion originating from the Dakon Pendrill chemical plant started a massive fire in Ogden Marsh. He says a perimeter has been set and civilians are not being allowed into the area. A infected individual appears on camera just before the signal is lost.

“I am Legend”

In September 2012, military Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville is the last immune human in New York City. A genetically-engineered case of the measles virus created by accident. I was meant as a cure for cancer.  It spread around the world, killing 90% of humanity. Most survivors became predatory, vampire like creatures called "Darkseekers" that emerge after dusk to prey on those immune to the virus. Prior to this Robert had lost his wife and daughter in a helicopter accident in 2009. Robert is never totally alone; he is kept company by a dog call Sam.

Robert's daily routine is experimenting on infected rats to find a cure for the virus. One day he catches an infected woman. He tests a cure on her and it seems to work.

The next day he becomes caught in a snare trap and passes out. He regains consciousness and frees himself. Whilst doing this he and Sam are attack by a pack of infected dogs. They both escape but Sam has been bitten and later dies.

Angered by this, Robert takes his grief out on the infected “Darkseekers” by driving around in his truck. He kills many but is overwhelmed and is almost kill. Lucky for him, he is saved by a mother and her son on the way to a safety camp.

The same night, the mother and son take shelter in Robert’s house. The infected find the house and begin to attack it. The mother and son flee into the basement and hide in a coal chute. Robert follows but so do many of the infected. He is forced to commit suicide by detonating a grenade; he also kills the remaining “Darkseekers” that invaded the house.

The mother and son escape and soon arrive at the safe camp.

Common Themes

All these films have similar stories. In all zombie films, the town has become infected accidently and there are only a few people left to fend of themselves. Using their own knowledge, they survive for most of the film however, as the films are ending either the army or other help arrives. Apart from “I am Legend” the main characters survive.

“Shaun of the Dead” is also a stereotypical love story. Shaun and Liz separate to start.  We are then introduced to Shaun’s best friend. He last dies along with all their other friends. Shaun and Liz are the only ones lefts. As the films end it is revealed that the trauma of the zombie infestation has brought them back together. A romantic subplot is another common feature of zombie films, giving the main characters someone to protect and another reason to want to survive. For example, “The Crazies” is similar to this. David refuses evacuation to save his wife. He finds her along with his best friend. He is later killed whilst helping David. David and Judy both live through the infection. In “I am Legend”, the main characters best friend is also killed, and however it is a dog.

In all three there are characters in love, even if it is a dog, death of a friend and outside help. Each film contains this stereotypical storyline.

Characters

“Shaun of the Dead”

Shaun: salesman whose life has no direction. His younger colleagues show him no respect; he has rocky relationships with his stepfather and a tense relationship with his housemate, Pete because of Ed. Shaun is anything apart from a heroic figure.

Ed: lives on their couch and deals marijuana, uneducated, lazy and incompetent.

Liz: is dissatisfied with their social life, as it consists primarily of spending every evening at the Winchester, Shaun and Ed's favourite pub.

So it would be good if our main characters turn out to be rather unexpected heroes.
 

“The Crazies”

David:  He is a sheriff, this shows he is capable of being in charge. Also show authority and that he cares for the good of others. He is an everyday hero.

Judy: Love interest

Russell: Hero, willing to risk his life to save David and Judy.

In order to make the action believable we need to make our characters more heroic as the film progresses.

“I am Legend”

Robert: Doctor, he cares about the heath of others. Want to find a cure so he could save the others. He shows qualities of a heroic character.

Common Elements

The key theme here is that the main character is not the archetypal 'hero' - this role is filled by another character. The main character represents the average audience member and how they would probably react in this kind of situation. However, they have to be capable of heroic deeds from time to time and show some character development by the end.

Camera Angles

Zombie films use a variety of camera angles in  short sequences to portray the feelings of tension and pace as well as to grab the attention of the audiences. POV shots are common. They are used to make the audience feel as if they are the character. High angle or long shots are often used to make the victim look vulnerable to attacks. Canted angles are used in times of distress and attacking scenes. Its show the audience that something isn’t right. Quick cuts are used during attacks to generate pace and suspense.

Mise-en-scène

The location of these zombies’ films is often in a town or urban city. There are several techniques used in the films I have watched to show that the town has been abandoned. In “I am Legend” stray cars with smash windows and plants intertwined in the wheels show that they have been there for some time. It also shows that there are no humans there is tidy up the mess. By using urban setting it makes the plot seem more realistic. It allows the audience to relate to the location.

We won't be able to find a deserted urban location as we don't have the authority to close streets etc. That is why we will use a wood, as it should be very quiet and also because it is very believable that the zombies starting the epidemic are hiding in there until their numbers mass and they can come out confidently into the towns.

In all films the zombies have been discoloured with limbs and lumps missing from their anatomy. It shows the audience that they are not human and stops them getting confused. The costumes the zombies wear are often of officials.  This shows the audience that everyone is infected and there is literally no one to go to for help. We are already looking into the make up we will use as this will be an important element.