Second Film Review

The film I did a review for was Zombieland a comedy horror film which was produced in 2009 and directed by Ruben Fleischer.

The plot of the film is a shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun toting tough guy trying to find the last “Twinkie”, and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie filled America.

The first scene that impressed me the most was the scene in the store where they unleash their anger by smashing up the store, it uses slow-motion to make the scene more dramatic it also used contrapuntal music of classical music to make the scene more memorable and potentially funny for viewers. The other scene that impressed me the most was the final action sequence in the amusement park because it combined well with the fast montage aspects of action films with loads of long shots and slow-motion, it also used conventional aspects of horror films with Collision cutting, which was used when the two girls are on the drop down tower and the guys are trying to kill the zombie, and creepy locations to appeal to a wider audience.

Watching this film has helped me understand the genre of making horror films by using my horror genre checklist I have seen which aspects are in most horror films.

The characters and representation in the film was the Male Hero in the film which was Columbus because he saved the 2 sisters at the end of the film. Quick smart monsters are the zombies which are shown by them running around the Theme Park but not stereotypically smart as get easily distracted when Tallahassee shoots his gun to get all of the zombies to chase him while Columbus saves the 2 sisters. The final girl in the film was Wichita as she is able to use a gun and doesn’t have sex with Columbus whilst they are in Bill Murray’s house.

The Mise-en-Scene and sound in the film included Body Horror which was used when Tallahassee and Columbus find a new car after the 2 sisters steal there’s and they find a pair of decapitated hands on the steering wheel. Creepy locations are also used in the film in the abandoned amusement park as the zombies could be hiding anywhere in the park waiting to jump out and attack. Low key lighting is also used when Wichita goes into the electric room at the theme park to turn the power on for all the rides, the room when she enters is dimly lit. Parallel music is also used when Columbus and Tallahassee first meet as when they point guns at each other tense music is being played to make the audience feel tense as well as they don’t know what could happen next. Contrapuntal music is also used in the store scene as classical music is being played when smashing up the store but when you think of destruction rock or heavy metal music would be playing.

The editing used in Zombieland often includes a clever use of montage which is used when Tallahassee remembers his son as lots of different moments where they spent time with each other in the past are put together. This slow montage makes the audience feel emotional towards Tallahassee. Collision cutting is also used in the film when the zombies are running towards the 2 sisters as they are riding on the pirate ship as they are happy and enjoying themselves on the ride as meanwhile the zombies are running towards them. Montage (quick-slow) is also used when the zombies are attacking the girls it cuts back to Columbus and Tallahassee saying goodbye to each other. Close ups are also used when the Columbus escapes the bathroom with the zombie in it and shuts the door thinking he’s trapped it in there but then you get a close up of the zombies’ hand opening the door of the bathroom. Expressionist angles are also used in the toilet scene as when the man is on the toilet a zombie sneaks under the door and attacks him. This uses a high angle showing the fear of the man when being attacked when he is most vulnerable. Handheld camera is also used at the start of the film as someone is recording some zombies then the monster attacks him. A Point of view shot is also used when Tallahassee gets a pair of shears and walks up to the zombie   and you see what he sees as he chops the head of one of the zombies.

The themes and narrative in the film are sex of taboo as when driving in the car Columbus and Tallahassee talk about sex. Threats to yourself and family is also used when the 2 sisters are on the drop tower and the bottom is completely surrounded by zombies and is slowly moving down towards to them. There is also an open ending to the film as Columbus says “until the next time” which suggests there may be a sequel to the film. Institutional context is evident in the film as the zombies look gorier than films in the past for example compared to the zombies in Dawn of the Dead. They have more blood on them showing the changes in the horror industry over the last 30-40 years.

Some of the aspects of the film that I would like to include in my trailer is the cutaway scenes as these parts of the film I enjoyed as they added a certain edge to the film as made it less horror like and more action/comedy films I prefer to watch. I also liked the slow-motion sequences in the film for example in the store scene and when Tallahassee is shooting the zombies in the theme park as these create more dramatic sequences to keep the audience on the edge.

The aspects I would avoid when creating my horror trailer is the extra-diegetic narration as this tells the audience only exactly what the main character is thinking and I don’t think this works well in a horror film and mainly works in comedy films.

The best moment in the film in my opinion was the scene with Bill Murray hanging out with Wichita and Tallahassee as it shows some historical context of Ghostbusters and shows that he likes to get high on drugs. In horror films this means you are likely to die in the film which he does when he creeps on Columbus and he shoots him thinking he is a zombie as Murray is dressed like one to protect himself from the zombies.

The auteur style of Ruben Fleischer is action films as most of his other films have the action film aspect involved. Some of Fleischer’s other films are Gangster Squad and 30 Minutes Or Less these films are both involve a lot of action which is Fleischer’s auteur style. Many action aspects are used in Zombieland, for example the action sequence in the Theme Park is just like a scene from an action film as uses a lot of long shots and other aspects used in action films. He also uses slow-motion sequences which are also used in action films as in the Theme park scene when Tallahassee is shooting the zombies. Guns are used a lot as well in all of his films, these are phallic symbols used throughout the film to defend themselves from the zombies.