Assignment Task 1 - Zombie Film Analysis

The zombie genre is a sub-genre of horror. This means that as well as following the horror genre conventions it also has it's own. I watched a few different zombie films that were made at different times – from this i will analyse specific aspects of the films and how they follow or subvert the zombie horror genre.

The first film I watched was ‘Dawn of the Dead’ that was directed by George A. Romero in 1978. This was one of the first successful films from the zombie horror genre, and therefore it created and set most of the common conventions we see in zombie films today. Firstly, the initial location of the film is in a recording studio in America; here you’re thrown right into the middle of chaos. This is a common convention for the genre; the audience witness chaos and a social breakdown due to the zombie outbreak. From here, the main location of the rest of the film is a shopping mall. Here the main characters camp out and get resources until things go south. When they first arrive at this location it is infested with zombies, this presents the idea that although the zombies are undead, and feed off human flesh, they have some kind of humanity left in them. They go back to the mall although brain dead because this was a common place for them to be when they were alive, therefore the tiny part of them that is still slightly human brings them here. This is definitely a convention of the zombie horror genre, the zombies/infected, although dead, still grip on to the tiniest bit of human nature possible.

There are four main characters in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ – Stephen, Peter, Roger and Francine. Firstly, the hero in this film is Peter as he is the one who comes up with all the plans, and saves everyone. However, at first it was an argument to say that Roger could also be the hero, however he ends up dying and turning into a zombie. This is convention of the zombie genre; if the hero dies then they become a false hero. Lastly, at first you’d think that Francine is a damsel in distress, she relies of everyone else to protect her, and she is labeled as quite useless due to the fact that she’s a woman (gender stereotypes were quite big at this time) and also she was pregnant. However, at the end of the film her role changes to make her the heroine (female hero) because she flies the two remaining survivors away from the danger and therefore saving them. At first the only characters that knew each other were Stephen and Francine (in a relationship) and Roger and Peter (worked together).  From here, they protected each other and tried to survive together which then therefore formed the idea of survivors teaming up and forming a new ‘family’.

Also, in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the zombies are – what we now know as – traditional zombies. They are undead and have limited intelligence so all they know (apart from the tiny bit of human nature in them) is to eat human flesh. Furthermore, the only way to actually kill them is by destroying the brain and you’ll turn into one if bitten by one (how Stephen and Roger turn). The villains in the film, apart from the zombies being a threat, as seen later on when a group of rebel bikers come and try to take over the mall. Due to the fact that there were more rebels than the main characters, you’d think that they would ‘win’ and take over the mall, however, as they are villains they don’t due to the fact that villains never win in the zombie genre. The last character that was worth taking note of was a scientist (aka the expert). He was seen every now and then on the TV talking about the outbreak; he was an important character as we were thrown into the middle of the outbreak and therefore didn’t actually get much backstory, so when it cuts to the expert talking about the zombies and what to do now it’s the only actual information we receive. This is a quite typical convention for the genre, you don’t get to know the backstory in a simple explanation, you only get bits and pieces that you have to put together yourself, therefore it makes the film more mysterious and tension filled. However, the information that the scientist does give us, although helpful for the backstory the things he is actually saying aren’t positive and reassuring. He makes it seem like there is no hope and this is a complete disaster, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that he is a bad character; he is just informing everyone of the harsh reality. This therefore adds a more dramatic feel to the film, it makes it scarier and tension filled.

The most obvious prop used in this film was the guns and other weapons. These are definitely typical for a zombie film as it adds that element of danger and also realism. When it comes to the use of costume, it was quite a big part for the genre as everything everyone was wearing says a lot about him or her. For example, the hero and false hero were both wearing SWAT uniforms, this then tells the audience that they are trained with guns and combat so they will probably survive for long and protect others. However, Francine and Stephen were just wearing day clothes, this shows that they are just average people, probably haven’t used a weapon before and can’t protect themselves. Furthermore, the villains were wearing lots of black, leather and tattoos; this then presents them to be rebels, dangerous and a threat. Lastly, the more technical side of the costumes, were the fact that obviously there had to be some way to make the zombies look real and different from the humans. This meant that makeup is a big part for the zombie horror genre as it makes the zombies look real and more believable (however the zombies in this film didn’t look so real due to resources of the time it was filmed).

Additionally, when it comes to the use of cameras and editing ‘Dawn of the Dead’ used shots such as close ups, this is because it wants to emphasise a specific moment. For example, when Roger turns into a zombie they shoot a close up of his face because it was an important and dramatic moment of the film - this is a typical use of camera within the zombie horror genre. Furthermore, another convention that this films follows is the use of fast cuts and sound effects. This then creates a faster, upbeat and scarier atmosphere, which in turn makes the genre more effective. A specific example where sound and music plays an important role is when Roger dies. As all the characters know that Roger is going to turn into a zombie, Peter sits in the room and waits for him to turn so that he can shoot him. Meanwhile Francine and Stephen are in the other room watching the TV where the scientist character is saying that there is no hope and the harsh reality is that this is now life and the zombie will not stop until there’s no food (humans) left. This use of dialogue is interestingly used because while the scientist is saying all this, Peter is faced with the horrible task of shooting his friend. As well as this, just before Peter shoots his friend, Francine says, “It’s really all over, isn’t it?” - I find this line to be quite ironic. The fact that now that they have to murder one of their new-formed family members, and even scientist people on the news are saying there’s no hope, they finally now realize that life wont is the same way it was before, society has broken down and you can only survive for so long. Furthermore, along with the somewhat motivational dialogue from the scientist, there is music used in the background. While the whole situation is taking place, tension filled music is in the background, and then once Peter shoots the music comes to an immediate stop and the scientist’s dialogue calms down. These different uses of sound and music are definitely typical for the zombie horror genre; tension filled music that makes the situation scarier and more dramatic, and sound effects that not only add a sense of realism (gun shots) but also have an impact on the scene.

One big theme that was used within ‘Dawn of the Dead’ was the theme of social breakdown. This is shown at the very start of the film when everything is extremely chaotic; as soon as people hear about zombies everyone goes crazy and loses sense of society, rather than working as a team they show the theme of survival of the fittest. Another example of where the theme of social breakdown plays a part is in the scene where Francine is sitting in front of a mirror, covered in over-done makeup. I think that the fact that she completely does her self up to the point where she actually looks ridiculous shows the idea that she brain dead, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Society is broken and the characters can try to ignore it as much as they want (shown by Francine’s makeup).

Another big theme that I found to be in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ was the theme of human greed. When the characters came across the mall, they went in to scavenge and build up resources, but once they realize they can take everything and anything they want they become consumed by greed and start taking/using things that really, for basic survival, aren’t necessary. I find that the scene where Francine and Stephen have a dinner date quite fascinating, at first they were just going in the food shops and grabbing basic food, but once the greed took over they got dressed up and went on a date. They were almost acting like there weren’t human eating zombies outside and that society was still intact. Really, they should’ve been grateful for the canned food they got and moved on, however because humans are so greedy they pushed it and started going on dinner dates. Both these themes are conventional for the zombie genre, the idea of society breaking down and characters not knowing how to handle it, and the idea that greed will always be within humans so even when survival in zombie films should be priority it never is.

For the second zombie film, I watched '28 Days Later' which is a British based, modernised zombie film that was directed by Danny Boyle. When the film first starts, the initial location is an unknown based laboratory - it presents a group of rebel characters trying to save the captive monkeys in said lab, however a scientist character then informs them that they are 'infected'. This is the only back-story we get about the zombie outbreak before the film fast forwards in time and presents a completely new location. This is a somewhat common convention for zombie films, there isn't much explanation for the zombie/infected outbreak - like in 'Dawn of the Dead' where you're thrown right in the middle of the drama and only have a few hints throughout the film on what's happening and how it got that way.

The main character in '28 Days Later' is Jim, he is the conventional 'hero' - he always sees sense and protects his new found family, said new found family consists of Selena (the heroine), Hannah and Frank. He formed this family due to the fact that Selena (and originally, the false hero, Mark) saved him, from that they gained each other’s trust and worked together to survive. Later on, Selena and Jim come across Frank and his daughter Hannah, whom also become part of the family due to the fact that they trust one another and come to the realisation that they need each other to be able to survive. It's evident that they form a family as once Hannah and Selena are in danger, rather than Jim leaving them once he escapes, he makes his sole mission to get back and rescue them. This is a common convention of the zombie horror genre, of survivors teaming up and creating a new family.

Additionally, although Jim is the hero of this film, at the start he is actually presented to be weak and somewhat useless – he wakes up from a coma not knowing what’s happened, he’s completely defenseless, and he has no idea what to do. However, throughout the film you see his character grow and become the final hero the audience see him as now. I think that the change from slightly feminine and useless to brave and heroic is signified when Jim shaves his head – not only does this signify masculinity but also it’s kind of like he’s showing a new him. As soon as he shaves his head, from then on he becomes the hero. We see his heroic actions when he saves Hannah and Selena from the villains (army men). Although at first the main characters were led to believe that these soldiers would protect them and offer them safety, later on when things go south, they turn into the ‘baddies’ when they turn out to have the aim to actually rape the women and kill Jim as he testifies. When Jim fights back the two-army men who tried to kill him, he makes his sole mission to get back and rescue Selena and Hannah.

This whole situation was shot in an incredible way; Jim was filmed to come across not as a conventional hero who shoots the bad guys but that’s okay because he is the hero, he is portrayed through camera shots to be more like the infected. The colouring when Jim fights back and hunts for the female characters is very dark, and red therefore connoting danger and anger (like the infected do). Along with this, the fact that there is an intense thunderstorm happening outside is a good use of sound - it adds tension and drama. I think that the shot of when Jim first gets back to the location of where the girls are has an impact. He is shot from a slightly low angle, to be standing over barbed wire in the rain with a completely black background and he’s slightly silhouetted. I think that this shows the start of his rampage and him being the unconventional hero. It definitely shows this idea that he has now been filled with power (the complete opposite from how he was presented at the start of the film). Another shot where Jim is presented to be like an infected is when he looking through the window, this is because just before that there was an exact same shot of an actual infected. Lastly, overall Jim at the end is just filmed in the exact same manner that the infected are, quick cuts and lots of close ups. The fact that he is shirtless too also shows that he is completely defenseless really, just like the infected, he only needs himself to complete his aim of saving the girls. His whole mindset is nothing but saving them, and he will do and does brutal things to get to them. This is also similar to the infected, they’re full of rage and all they know and want to do is kill and nothing will stop them from doing so. He is presented to be so much like the infected that when he finally saves Selena she gets a machete to protect herself from him because she is actually convinced he is infected.

Although this makes Jim a definite unconventional hero for the zombie genre, it still doesn’t mean that he isn’t an effective character. He does a complete switch from the beginning to end, from a useless feminized character to a rampage filled hero. Along with this, the fact that it isn’t until the end where Jim becomes this heroic monster presents the idea that the infected aren’t really the threat, humans are. This can also apply to the fact that the villains in the film aren’t the infected but the army men, rather than the characters fearing the infected who will chase them and kill them, the humans (the army men) can be just as much as a threat if not more due to the fact that they planned this whole thing to capture women and rape them (regardless of their age). From this as well, there was foreshadowing of the events throughout the film, the fact that when the three main characters were initially saved the army men report back to base saying “two females, one male”. Additionally, when the line “Mitchell (army man), I swear to God this is going to end badly for you” foreshadows the whole rampage of Jim.  I think that all of this is interesting as it completely opens up a new convention for the genre.

The zombies in '28 Days Later' are the first of a new convention within the zombie horror genre. Rather than being slow and food driven, these zombies aren't necessarily zombies but infected. They are infected with 'rage' and are extremely fast and vicious. Also a convention that these zombies break is the fact that you do not turn into one through a bite, but instead by in taking the blood of one (and you turn extremely quickly). This created an interesting idea due to the fact that when the character Frank got infected, it was unexpected because he wasn't in danger and getting attacked, he simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time (he looked up and an infected's blood fell in his eye).

As for technical conventions of ’28 Days Later’ the props played a quite important part within the mise-en-scene. For example, when Jim is walking around abandoned London, he sees money on the floor and instantly starts grabbing it and taking it. Regardless of the fact that he can clearly see society has broken down and money won’t help him, his human instinct is to take it. This presents the interesting theme of human greed; no matter the situation specific things (such as money, food and shelter) will always be of importance to us. Another prop that had an effect of the film was the use of weapons (ie, guns). In almost every zombie film there will be guns as it’s a convention of the genre, however as this was set in the UK, access to guns isn’t as easy compared to films that are set in America. This means that it adds that other element of danger; in American films, almost every character is guaranteed to have a gun in the home, or they’ll come across someone who does. However, due to gun laws in the UK it means that everyday people such as Jim wont have a weapon therefore he is more vulnerable to the situation. Furthermore, if he comes across those with guns he is going to instantly want to gain their trust and join their team so he’s protected.

Along with the technical conventions, use of colour played a role a lot within this film. For example, when Jim enters the church the lighting is very dark and dull, and then when the Priest attacks him, the lighting is quite red and dark. This then connotes a theme of danger and death, meaning that it makes the whole scene far scarier and tension filled. Also, it creates a sense of irony, the fact that he is in a church getting attacked by a Priest, yet there’s this undertone of hell and hatred.

Another theme that is presented throughout the whole of the film is survival of the fittest; Selena is the main character that plays along to this theme. At the beginning she has the mindset that survival is the most important thing (which is quite conventional for most zombie films). She tells Jim that if she needed to she would kill him, like how she killed Mark instantly when he discovered he was infected. She’s presented to be selfish and only wanting to survive. However, slowly this theme is broken down, the fact that she becomes part of this newly formed family and not wanting to save just herself but Hannah too when they are being held captive. A specific scene where Selena stops revolving around survival is when she is getting changed with Hannah before they are lead to believe that they’re going to get raped. She asks the army men to leave the room while they change and instead of her believing in survival of the fittest and climbing out the window and trying to escape, she instead tries to force Hannah to take some tablets that will calm her down meaning that whatever happens Hannah wont realise. This then shows that Selena cares for people over herself, meaning that she has realised that surviving although important, isn’t the same if you’re alone – being in a team/family is better. This is definitely a convention of the genre, at the beginning everyone thinks about himself or herself, however bonds will be made and they care for one another.

The last zombie film I watched was actually a short film called ‘Cargo’ that was directed by Ben Howling and Yalonda Ramke. It is set in a sub-rural environment throughout, which isn’t quite conventional of the genre – normally the locations are quite urban and in cities. However, this just adds another element of danger, the fact that it is somewhat in the middle of nowhere means that there are less resources, leaving any survivors more defenseless. The very first scene is shot in a car that has crashed in a forest – here we meet the main character the dad, who wakes up from the crash and is instantly faced with danger as his wife has turned into a zombie next to him. The dad kills the threat and retrieves his baby daughter from the back seat (the second main character). This start is conventional of the genre, the audiences are thrown right into the middle of a situation, and no backstory on how the zombie outbreak happened is given.

From here the father realises he has been bitten (meaning that he’ll turn into a zombie), before planning on how long he’s got to live he plans out where he needs to go to get his daughter safety. From here we immediately have the idea that the dad is going to be the hero, instead of giving up when he realises he’s going to turn he makes it his sole mission to protect his daughter. When mid travelling the dad starts to turn into a zombie, from here you’re led to believe it’s going to all start going down hill, however the dad preplanned this scenario. This meant that he had a stick holding a bag of guts in front of him and tied his hands together, so that when he became a zombie he kept trying to reach the guts rather than eat his daughter on his back. From here he finally makes his destination from where he gets shot by a new character, before more new characters make there way over find the child and burry the dad.

Conventionally, if the hero in a zombie film die or become a zombie then rather than being a hero, they become a false hero, however the fact that he got his daughter to the survivors meant that he completed his mission meaning that the dad stays being he hero. The heroine in this film is probably the female character who finds the baby on the dead fathers back, because at first the survivors didn’t realise that she was there so turn to leave. But when the woman hears the baby cry she finds her and takes her. Also, another reason why she can seen as the heroine is the fact that the last shot of the film is the men in the background burying the dad meanwhile, she is closer to the camera holding the baby. I think that the fact that neither of the men are next to her present the idea that if they were it would come across as if this women is the daughter’s new mother and any man next to her would be the new dad. But the fact that the father made it his sole mission to protect his daughter, even when a zombie, if the idea of a new father came into the scenario the audience would probably instantly dislike the character as they are so devoted to the father for being the hero.

Along with this you could argue that the heroine in ‘Cargo’ was actually the baby (Rosie). This is because throughout the film she is the dad’s priority; she keeps him sane and devoted. Furthermore, conventionally in zombie films, the children/babies are seen as hope – usually they don’t have whatever virus in them to make them become a zombie. Babies are seen as a sign of life, and therefore in a world where society has broken down, a baby can be the key to rebuilding it.


In additions to this, conventionally the zombies in the zombie horror genre aren’t actually the villains, however in 'Cargo' you could say that the zombie mother is the villain. This is because she was the one who probably bit the father; therefore she was the cause of him becoming a zombie. However, you could also say that the villain was the sniper who shot the dad when he was a zombie. As he killed the main character, the hero, the one everyone liked then he is seen as a threat and a 'bad guy'. Although, in my opinion, due to the fact that it was a short film and the story was more about whether the dad will get his daughter to safety, there wasn't any solid and conventional villain.


The zombies in 'Cargo' are what we call traditional zombies, although we didn't see many of them (apart from the mum and dad) from what we do see we can gather this evaluation. They are slow moving, undead, eat human flesh, and spread the infection through biting. Although traditional zombies have limited intelligence, when we see the father, as a zombie there is definitely a sign of past memory, from when he was a human. This was seen when he holds the balloon and looks at it - it's like it signifies his daughter and his mission, now that he has made it to safety he looks at the balloon before dying. Along with this, as the colour of the balloon was white it suggests the idea of surrender, he is innocent, he has finished his mission and can go out with pride now. This then therefore adds to the idea of the father being a conventional hero, even when about to die he is still full of honor; he doesn't go out like a failure, he goes out like a 'man'.


As this was a short film for a festival; the budget would have been much smaller than a feature production such as other famous and successful zombie films. However, from the budget they did have they made use of it due to the fact that every prop used was effective. A specific example I found to be particularly effective was the use of the cross headstone; when the father was shot, the last scene shows someone (the father) getting buried and a headstone above them. I found this to be effective because originally, before the survivors saw the child they just assumed he was another zombie, but once they put the pieces together and realised what he did, they burry him in a respectful manner. Due to the fact that it's a zombie film, conventionally people didn't get buried, especially zombies, it was all about survival, if you die you die. But the fact that they were so humbled by what the father did they knew that he was a hero. I found this to be slightly unconventional of the genre however, as like mentioned, no one would really get buried and they especially wouldn't have a proper headstone.


When it comes to use of camera and editing, what I found to be interesting was actually the very start of 'Cargo'. When the father is waking up from the car crash it's shot using a lot of jump cuts and the focus is very blurry - this then creates a sense of realism, when waking up from a crash you'd imagine your focus and vision to be blurred and jumbled and therefore by shooting it this way it made it more realistic and therefore effective. This is definitely a convention of the genre; every event possible is shot in a way to be a realistic as possible due to the fact that it is also part fantasy. Other genres such as romance films do not have to worry about the use of camera work and editing as much as they don't need to make anything look real because it is more real. Another use of camera that I picked up on was also at the start - the father is shot in a close up and then the camera zooms out to a mid shot which not only shows more emotion from the father but also it reveals to the audience that he is a father and has a child in his arms. I found this a good use of camera as it shows the emotion of the main character and conventionally the main character not only gets more camera time but they're shot in a more personal way so that you can really connect to them and like them. 

More within the mise-en-scene was the use of sound, particularly two specific sounds - the gun shot and babies cry. I firstly found the gun shot effective because it occurs when the dad gets shot and killed, the reason that this stood out was the fact that before this is was almost completely silent and calm, then you hear the loud bang of gun shot. This not only makes you jump (adding more to the horror side of the genre with jump scares) but it also creates an emotional impact. The character that everyone was rooting for just suddenly and unexpectedly gets killed in a somewhat harsh manner and this then plays along with the audiences' fears and desires. This is a convention of the genre; they use things within the mise-en-scene to have a more emotional response to the film therefore making it more gripping and enjoyable for the viewers. Furthermore, the use of sound within the baby's cry was effective because when we hear it at first it makes the audience feel tense and worried - the cry can alert zombies and bring danger. However, towards the end of film the baby cry is more a sound of hope and relief as it's the only thing that alerted the survivors that she was there. If she didn't cry then they probably would have just left the dad and walked away which would have meant that the ending of the film would've been sad and the dad wouldn't have completed his mission. 


The main theme in 'Cargo' was the theme of attitude to death; this is demonstrated through the father and survivors. Death is something everyone fears, especially in zombie films where survival is key, however the father's attitude to death was that he knows it's going to happen to him therefore he needs to use the rest of his time left to help his daughter. This just adds to how much of a hero the father is and why his death is particularly effective for the audience. Furthermore, the attitude to death for the survivors was that people/zombies die everyday so it's no big deal - therefore when they see the father they just start to turn away but like what I said before, when they realise what the father did they felt like he deserved a proper death. This therefore shows that people's overall attitudes to death in zombie films are that although death is common, only few die in an honorable manner. This is conventional of the genre, people don't want to die but if they do then people move on. However, if the person who dies was a hero then they're commemorated, like the father in 'Cargo' and Roger in 'Dawn of the Dead'. The second big theme in 'Cargo' was love - the father's love for his daughter was the only thing that kept him going and set the plot of the whole film. It shows that even when society has broken down and zombies are taking over, love can still stand strong - demonstrated by the father in 'Cargo' and Jim in '28 Days Later'. 

Overall, the zombie horror genre although being a subgenre, has it’s own conventions that films follow and also subvert. Through the three films I watched, although they each were made at different budgets, different times, different storylines they all overall followed the similar main conventions of the genre such as themes, camera work, characters and narratives. As ‘Dawn of the Dead’ was one of the first zombie films it created most of these typical conventions we’re used to seeing today, however other more modern films do not only change this conventions but they create their own meaning that the zombie genre is constantly becoming more recognised and innovative.