28 days later - Media

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28 Days Later - Analysis

Media Coursework

           

Analyse the opening scene of the film 28 Days Later and comment on whether you think it is an effective opening sequence to a film.

     28 Days Later, a bloodthirsty horror film directed by Danny Boyle was released in 2002. The opening begins 28 day after the first infection of the zombie outbreak.

     We begin with the title of the film signifying this is 28 day later. There is an extreme close-up shot of the main character’s eye as it gently opens with a sharp intake of breath. This signifies he has woken up after the events that happened and he appears to be well. His hair is overgrown and unkempt, apart from one side of his head, which suggest he may have had some kind of brain surgery. This may be the cause of his prolonged time asleep. As he tries to manoeuvre out of the bed, he is entangled with operating equipment and monitors. This expresses that he has been left without any supervision.

     The character ventures to the door and uses the key to open it. As he shouts “Hello?”, he progresses down the stairs of the hospital and sees payphones. They are all dangling by the wire, which shows that there has clearly been chaos with people trying to contact each other.

     As he starts to become curious, he shouts louder “Hello!” to which he gets no response once again. He gathers cans of pop from a broken vending machine and continues his quest to find any signs of life. At this point I think he is in shock and is bewildered as to what is happening.

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     As he is outside he walks across a car park scattered with abandoned ambulance reinforcing the thought of chaos before. The camera then focuses on a long shot of the Thames River completely quiet and lifeless. This indicates surrealism as it is usually busy and diligent. He walks across the London bridges covered in rubbish and he stumbles across broken ‘Big Ben’ ornaments symbolizing the chaos that has happened. He is in awe as he continues through this lifeless city. I think he has reacted as though he is in a dream because he hasn’t broken down and ...

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