'28 Weeks Later' opening scene analysis

Introduction

I will be analysing the opening title scene of '28 Weeks Later', which is a movie of a horror/thriller genre. The reason for analysing this opening scene is because I will be creating my own opening title scene of a horror genre and I will need to take into consideration the different aspects that will make my opening title scene relate to the genre horror by using different elements such as low key lighting, eerie music and soundtracks, different camera shots, especially close up to show facial expressions of characters to show what they are experiencing and to put the audience in the same position, etc. I would ned to use as many horror conventions as I can to make my opening title seem as scary as possible.

28 Weeks Later


28 Weeks Later is a film sequel to 28 Days Later. This film is about a rage virus outbreak that hits London in the form of zombies killing whatever is in their way, and whoever gets bitten turns into a zombie to.

The first horror convention i noticed in this sequence was low-key lighting, which could symbolise isolation, vulnerability and add to the intensity of the sequence. The candles in the sequence also add to the low-key lighting and would be a very obvious prop and convention of horror, and it could also symbolise hope, for example the people in the scene praying that they will survive and hoping that they will be safe from the zombies.

The characters in this sequence seem very frightened, and are waiting to see what is going to happen next, which is shown by the closing off of all the windows and doors with wooden blanks, which also indicates how prepared they are, so they are not only scared and vulnerable, but also 'prepared'.

There is a close up shot of the little boy eating, which shows that he is very hungry by the way he eats, which signifies that he hasn't had something to eat in a while, due to the fact that he was hiding away somewhere, and he has got mud all over his hands, which also tells us that he hasn't had the time to take a bath, as he had more important things to worry about, like hiding away from the rage outbreak.

There is a close up panning shot of the woman walking towards the window which has been covered with planks. this panning shot shows that she is up to something and that her eye are watering, meaning she is very scared and nervous. As she removes a plank from the window, we can immediately see how sunny it is outside (natural daylight). This signifies that a sort of freedom to the people, as there is nowhere else to go, and inside their house the lighting is very low-key, which signifies that they haven't seen daylight in a long time, which is especially shown when the lady removes the plank from the window.

This film has an age restriction of R, which means if you are under 17, you have to be accompanied by a parent when watching this. I would say this film is targeted at an audience between 17-25, as most horror/thriller films are targeted at this age group.