OH: Movie Opening Analysis, 28 Days Later (Boyle, 2002)

A conventional zombie horror would be 28 days later (Boyle, 2002). The plot depicts the fall of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus which focus
on the life of four characters and there struggles to cope with their new circumstances. It was known as the rejuvenation of the zombie horror genre which spurred a sequel of 28 weeks later. The film its self was very popular which was shown through its high box office, £52,833,190.55 and its low budget of £5,000,000. Here is the first scene of the film, it presents many of the typical features a horror production that I would like to replicated in my production:

Mise-en scene-

• All of the characters in the scene are dressed in very dull/dark clothing which helps set the scene of a typical horror film.
• Also the makeup is clearly very minimal and makes the characters out to be dirty which helps to give the impression that that they haven't actually left the safe house yet. Also when the boy enters the house he is seen to have dirt all over his face and dirty hands, as if he'd been in the dirt previously.
• Also the character selection is important in the scene. Before the young boy enters the house all of the characters are around the same age, which, when the boy enters the scene it creates a feeling of unrest amongst the other characters therefore the scene too.

• Character blocking is also important in showing a real divide between the adult actors and the boy. Before the boy comes into the house all of the characters are pictured around the table however when the boy is eating at the table the other characters are pictured around him.                           
• The set is designed well to create an eery feel to the opening, the candles scattered around the set and the dark furniture and minimal colour around the house help to evoke that eery feel to the opening.

          

Sound

• The focus on diagetic sound helps create a realistic feel to the scene. The fact that theres no backing track helps create a minimal feel, which also makes it even more dramatic when the zombie smashes through the window defence and bites the female actor which causes the chain reaction of havoc to unfold.

• The dialogue is also very minimal to give off the feeling that they're trying to keep quiet from the zombies outside, however they're seen to be like a very normal group of people sitting down for a meal.

Lighting-

• There's soft pools of light on the characters faces, which wouldn't have been able to be achieved with the candle lighting alone.
• As well as this there is limited to no back lighting which creates the limited feel to the scene.