Zombie Genre Analysis

What is a genre?A genre is a style or category of art, music, or literature. For example, a scary film is under the genre horror. Zombie genre is a sub-genre because it is a genre in a genre. The zombie genre uses some technical conventions from the horror genre but it also includes some of their own because they are their own genre.

Why is the opening to a film important?The opening of a film is important because it allows the audience to understand what is going to happen in the film and it is to get the audience interested. It also sets the plot of the film. For example, in Cargo, the opening has a zombie within the first few seconds. This clearly shows that the genre is Zombie horror.  Some films open with the apocalypse already happening around them, this could mean that they are unaware of how the zombie outbreak has happened. Most films down explain why the outbreak has happened; they guess and come up with an excuse. For example, Dawn of the Dead remake broadcast the news and says it is a virus that is spreading through biting, scratching or blood to blood.

SettingThe setting of a zombie genre film is important because it enables us to figure out what is going to happen through the initial location, initial situation, past/present/future, and other locations.The initial location is important because depending on the location can determine what will be happening within the film. For example, the mall is the initial location in the remake film Dawn Of The Dead. This is the initial location because they spend the majority of their time in there and when they are on the roof you can see all the zombies which can emphasise what is going to happen and that they are in danger. They use the mall to relate to Americans because they use the mall regularly.

 

In Shaun of the Dead the initial location is the local Pub. This is because it relates more to British people because British people go to the pub to socialise. This is an unconventional location because you most zombie genre films don’t use their initial location in a small area/building; most zombie genre films use large locations.

The initial situation is important because it allows the audience to see what is happening in the film. For example, in Shaun of the dead, the initial situation is that the two main characters are in their home and they have realised that there is a zombie apocalypse happening and they want to save the ones they love, so they come up with a plan on how to save everyone. This allows the audience to understand what is happening during the film. 

Past/present/future is important during the zombie genre films because the past can foreshadow the future by giving away what will be happening. The present allows the audience to understand what is happening. The future will allow the audience to have an insight on what will happen later on.Other locations are also important because they can convey what is happening within the situation of the film.

NarrativeThe main story of a zombie genre film can differ depending on what type of film it is. It can range from a conventional zombie film to an unconventional zombie film. They can differ because a conventional zombie film is normally scary or jumpy, which is different to an unconventional zombie film because they may include comedy within the film which is uncommon in a zombie genre film. For example, Shaun of the dead is an unconventional zombie film because it includes comedy. Shaun of the dead is unconventional because their main location is the Pub. This is unconventional because they don’t have many resources within the pub and the pub can easily be broken into. Dawn of the Dead 2004 uses the mall as their main location to show that they are safe and they have many resources in the mall to help them survive for the time that they are in there.The survivors will often team up together to help each other survive the zombie apocalypse. For example, in Shaun of the dead, Shaun’s ex-girlfriend was in her flat with 2 of her friends and they all join together to go to the safe place (Pub).Most zombie genre films will have backstories for each character. For example, Shaun from Shaun of the Dead worked in a retail shop selling TV’s and Ed didn’t have a job therefore he was unemployed.Linear and non-linear is important in a zombie film. Having the zombie film all linear means the film doesn't include any flashbacks and goes in order. Non-linear means the film will include flashbacks or clips from the future. This means that the film doesn't go in order, which is what makes it non-linear. For example, Shaun of the dead has clips from the future when they are planning their escape from the house. This makes the film non-linear because it doesn't go in order. 

CharactersThe characters in the film make up the genre. This is because without characters in the film you wouldn't have a good film. You need to have characters even if they aren't talking in the film. There are many types of characters in a zombie genre film and they are broken up into two categories; Human and non-human. Human has many different types of characters within.

Hero – someone who has good practical skills, decent and brave. For example, Shaun in ‘Shaun of the dead’ is classed as the hero because he wanted to leave the house to go rescue his ex girlfriend and family despite the risk of death via zombies.

Heroine – someone who is usually blonde, vulnerable but may be stronger than they appear. An example would be Liz from Shaun of the Dead because she was blonde but she was one of the last remaining characters in the film.

Expert – this character is normally a scientist or religious figure; they give the audience vital information and background.

False hero – normally one of the survivors, turns villainous, cowardly or crazy, or is simply not as competent as the hero. For example, Steve from Dawn of the Dead remake is the false hero because he wants to escape from the zombies but he doesn’t want to do anything to help them escape. He let them do all the work because he had the boat to escape so he thought they should do all the hard work.

Villain – this character is normally the main threat apart from the zombies. They are often a figure of authority such as a politician or military leader. They may be desperate to restore order to society in immoral way, act in immoral way because society has broken down, or simply hates the hero. Usually dies horribly at the hand (or teeth) of the zombies. For example, in Dawn of the Dead remake, CJ was the villain because he wanted everything to go his way and he wanted everyone to listen to him when he didn't know how to save everyone.

There are also the non-human characters, which are the zombies. The zombies are a reanimated corpse whose main desire is to eat the flesh of the living.

Technical conventions Props and costume are important within a zombie genre film because it defines the characters to who they are. Props are also a big part in a zombie genre film because you will always see the main characters using props to defend themselves. For example, in Shaun of the dead, Shaun and Ed use a shovel and a baseball bat to defend themselves against the zombies.

Music and sound play a key part of the zombie genre film because it allows the audience to know that something is about to happen by the music becoming intents. For example, the music will become louder when something scary is about to happen, it ill play faster, the beat will be more intents and it will cut off fast just before something happens.

Costumes are very important in a zombie genre film because the way the characters are dressed determines if they are a zombie or not. You can tell if a character is a zombie because of the make up that has been used on their face/body. For example, in cargo, the zombie was grey and has blood coming from cuts on the face. This indicated that the character was no longer living and was in fact a zombie. The clothing that they are wearing also shows the audience that the character is not living and is a zombie because the clothes are dirty, covered in blood, and have been torn apart. 

For example, in Shaun of the Dead, the zombies had a green colour to their skin to indicate that they are dead. They also had blood splats on their clothes from where they have been bitten and killed. There is a scene in the film that shows the survivors having to act like zombies so they can get into the pub, which is surrounded by zombies. They achieve this by the way they act, they act like they are brain dead and don’t make eye contact with the zombies.

The lighting is important in a zombie genre film because most scary films are only scary at night but zombie genre films are scary during the night and day. For example, in Dawn of the Dead, zombies surrounded the mall and they didn’t leave. The zombies would still attack during the day no matter what. The lighting is also used in Dawn of the Dead when they go into the car park of the mall. The lighting in the car park is dark so they have to use their own torches to try and find where they want to go.

This highlights the horror genre within the film because it is dark, which indicates that something scary is going to happen.

Camera angles are important in a zombie genre film because without going close up to the faces, you wont be able to tell if the characters are zombies or not. They are also important because it allows the audience to see what is happening in the surroundings. For example, Dawn of the Dead use long shots when they are looking down from the roof to show how many zombies are surrounding the mall. This enables them to know how to plan their escape.

Themes Cargo’s theme is family relationships because the father is trying to find a safe place to take his daughter because he is bitten and he wants his daughter to be safe. You can tell it is about the family relationship because he writes the daughters name on her stomach so that whoever finds her will know her name. He ties his hands in front of him so he wont is able to eat his daughter. He puts rotten guts into a bag and ties it onto a stick and puts the stick in front of him so that he will focus on moving forward to find the safe house.Dawn of the dead 2004’s theme is trust because most team members don’t know each other so they have to trust each other in order for them to come up with a plan to survive. The security guard doesn’t trust anyone and in the end her ends up dying because he wanted to do everything his own way. The theme is also survival of the fittest because they all have different qualities and they all want to try and survive.Shaun of the dead’s theme is friendship because Shaun and Ed are best friends no matter what. Shaun also wants to save his family and ex-girlfriend no matter what. He leaves the house to travel to many locations to make sure his friends and family are safe. Even at the end when his best friend is a zombie, he keeps him in the shed so he can still play video games with him.