'Dawn of the Dead' (1979) Zombies in Mall Analysis

This is the ending credits of Dawn of the Dead (1979), it shows the zombies walking aimlessly throughout the mall. This shows a high expressionist angle looking down on the zombies covering the ground floor.  I think that George A. Romero has done this to make them seem harmless as if they were ordinary people strolling round a shopping mall. He has done this to emphasise his beliefs on consumerism, he has achieved this by the zombies in the mall connote to the power of consumerism even when everyone is a zombie, the zombies still had a small part of their brain that made them venture to this spot, probably due to the repeated and often visits. By this he is saying to the audience that people are so obsessed with shopping malls that the greed in their minds make it an addictive place to be, even when they are dead. Peter addresses this directly when he responds to Stephen's question about why the zombies keep coming: “Memory? Instinct? This was an important place in their lives.”

This scene a brilliant example of Andrew Sarris’s Auteur theory due to the fact that George A. Romero in this film puts his life and soul into it. His beliefs effect almost every component in this film, he addresses issues that are linked very heavily to the Cultural Dominant Ideologies (CDI) at the time a long with a strong link to context. In this example, he is using editing to create this sub-narrative of consumerism, with the shot telling its own story. Romero often links to context throughout many of his films for instance Land of the Dead (2005) where he often links to consumerism and racism, which again where big problems at the time. Night of the Living Dead (1968) had the first ever black protagonist, addressing the very racist context at the time.

'Dawn of the Dead' (1979) Flyboy can't shoot Analysis

This is the scene where Flyboy is attempting to shoot a zombie but failed after many attempts, Roger then steps in and gets a headshot with his first shot. This mid-shot shows both of the characters facial expressions, allowing you to gain knowledge of the power that they behold. Roger is smaller but he is focused and remains calm when needed, proved by the unnerved facial expression he shows. However, Flyboy has a total different expression; he almost seems as if he is in disbelief, almost astonished how he can’t manage the same.

The use of the phallic symbols of the shotguns is very powerful in telling which the superior character is. Roger’s shotgun is aimed at a target connoting to the intense focus and masculinity that Roger’s character is perceived to have. On the other hand, Flyboy’s is to the side, upside down and goes out of the frame, connoting his lesser manhood, almost as if he feminine, he doesn’t behold any male protagonist traits other than his appearance.

This scene is all about George A. Romero reversing the representations of different characters by using the mise-en-scene to create this effect. This is a technique that he repeatedly uses throughout the film, especially with Flyboy. Romero often uses this trick throughout his films where her reverses stereotypes for instance, the likable protagonist zombie ‘Bub’ in Day of the Dead (1985).

'Dawn of the Dead' (1979) Enjoying Mall Analysis

This is the scene from Dawn of the Dead (1979), where the combination of Flyboy, Peter, Roger and Fran are enjoying the perks of being in a mall. In this still shot you can see Flyboy and Peter stealing money in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, where you wouldn’t need money because the rest of the people are zombies. This is heavily addressing the theme of consumerism with the context at the time; in the late 1970’s shopping malls were on a massive rise, getting bigger than they have ever been before. George A. Romero’s negative views on this are quite clear when analysing this shot.

This shot is taken from a high and expressionist angle looking down on both Flyboy and Peter stealing the money connoting weakness and vulnerability, which indicates that Romero sees consumerism as a weakness amplified by the state of their situation.

This scene is a very strong replication of George A. Romero’s feelings about consumerism, injecting his auteur style into the film. He does this by referring very closely to the context at the time, making it fresh in the audience’s minds. He has further enforced his point by the cinematography of this scene, with the different shot types creating a sub narrative.

Leather Face Research

Leatherface is best known for being a character in

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre the first film was released in 1974. However, there are a number of different films that are pert of the TTCM (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) series. He featured in all of the films that include: TTCM, TTCM 2, Leatherface: TTCM 3, TTCM: The Next Generation, TTCM Remake, TTCM: The Beginning and Texas Chainsaw 3D. He features heavily throughout these films, making an incredibly important villain to the series, some consider him to be the main antagonist of these films due to the amount of the plots he drives forward. 

Leatherface is a large male that wears a mask made out of human skin (hence his name) and engages in murder and cannibalism as well as being part of an inbred family. He has a number of different masks throughout the films named the 'Killing Mask', 'Old Lady Mask' and the 'Pretty Woman Mask'. It was said that the idea of him having a mask was to show that there was no personality under the mask, he put on the masks to express himself, allow for his killer to come out. This is why he also had different masks it reflected the personality. In the remake it gave a more solid explanation of why he wore the mask, it was due to a facial deformity that ate away his nose, this resulted in bullying from his peers. Before he killed people he used leather, cloths and animal hides. He then later went on to use the skin of his victims.

A killer named Ed Gein was the inspiration for the character as he performed very similar styles of murder and also wore a skin mask. Ed Gein suffered from schizophrenia, he used to have one half of his brain that was his mother, he lost his mother and ever since he began to fill the void of her in his head. She was said to be a very domineering character that would bully Gein and never let him play with the locals, it was said that the mother side of his brain was what drove him to kill, him saying that"his mother said to".

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American Horror franchise that included seven slasher films, comics and a video game adaptation of the original film. The films are based on a psycho-killer Leatherface. He terrorizes unsuspecting visitors on his property where kills and cannibalizes them. The films grossed over $235 million at the worldwide box office and ranks eight in the US box office in adjusted 2013 dollars when compared to other American Horror Series.

'Zombieland' (2009) still shot Analysis

This is the scene from ‘Zombieland’ where Columbus and Tallahassee are going to look in a snack shop to look for Tallahassee’s beloved Twinkies. This shot is just after Columbus fires at a door after hearing a noise.

In this shot you can see different lighting effects, affecting the way that the two characters are perceived within the mise-en-scene. Columbus (on the left) has bright key lighting, connoting his innocence towards the situation almost childlike which is further backed up by his startled facial expression. On the other hand, Tallahassee has lower fill lighting indicating his anti-hero side, which means he does things that he does things that stereotypically hero like but he is still seen as a protagonist. These creates a contrast between the two of them, almost creating like this father and son feel as it is almost as if the duller lighting shows the maturity of Tallahassee. This is further backed up by the position of their shotguns which are phallic symbols. Columbus’s is pointed down below the camera and Tallahassee’s is pointed above the camera, showing us the relation to their personalities. It almost represents head movements; his phallic symbol being down represents his lack of confidence and it being up shows Tallahassee’s confident and dignified approach.

The use of mise-en-scene is used to amplify their personalities and show us the contrast between the two but with the general bright lighting connotes to their strong relationship and one emphasised by how they are standing so close to each other. Their clothes are another indication of this, Columbus is wearing a hoodie, joggers and a striped top that is connoted to very youthful clothing, on the other hand you have Tallahassee how is wearing a snake skin pattern, with a cowboy hat and jeans, giving a lot more edge and ruggedness. This further emphasizes the contrast between the two by using representation.

There has been a rise in popularity of the modern trend of comedy horror sub-genre, Zombie land made a lifetime gross of $75,590,286 along with Ghostbusters making $242,212,467, Scary Movie making $157,019,771 and Gremlins making $153,083,102.

History of Horror

'PSYCHO' (1960) Norman's Birds Analysis

This is the scene from ‘PSYCHO’ where Norman is speaking to Marion about his mother. The low angle shows Norman to not necessarily be powerful but in some way weak because he has these large birds, overpowering the shot from above him. I believe that this is connoting the power that his mother has over his brain; even when he is having a normal conversation his mother creeps in to his mind; much like the birds located at the top of the mise-en-scene. ‘Birds’ is also a slang word used for women connoting that this is another way of showing that the domineering personality of his mother takes over. Marion’s last name is also ‘Crane’ which is a type of bird, this then indicates her death, connoting that he is going to stuff her just like all the other birds, which then further connotes to his mother. This connotes to his mother because Norman dug up his mother’s body and stuffed it, just like one of them birds, to preserve her, like an animal. This is based on Ed Gein and this almost exactly replicates his actions, he also dug up his mother’s body and stuffed it. Referring to the still shot this further indicates that the stuffed ‘birds’ connoting to the female gender have a massive power over him due to their position in the mise-en-scene.

This is further backed up by the fact that the shot only changes to this low angle shot from the ordinary mid-shot when Norman starting getting angry and is talking about his mother.

This scene is a strong indication to the actual extent of control Norman’s mother has over his mind and how Hitchcock uses the mise-en-scene and cinematography to create this very symbolic imagery. 

'PSYCHO' (1960) Norman Peeping Analysis

This is the scene from ‘PSYCHO’ where Norman is peeping in through a hole in the wall at Marion getting undressed. This is the scene prior to her killing in the shower scene. In this shot you can see low key lighting with a slight part of his face being lit by light and the rest dark in shadow. I think this connotes his schizophrenia, the light indicates the good in him, the 'normal' Norman. However, I think the dark side connotes to the mother side of his brain ('Norma'), the bad in him, and the side that drives him to murders. This also gives it a very sinister edge to him being a peeping tom watching Marion undress connoting to a lack of masculinity and sexual frustration. This is called the Male Gaze Theory due to the fact that Norman is looking at her while she is changing, creating a sexual feel to the shot of Marion. This also connotes to the sexual frustrations of Hitchcock, this is due to the fact that Hitchcock had a very domineering wife leading to him having an obsession with blonde women. This caused him to sexualise a lot of scenes where there were blonde women, as he was trying to over compensate because of his own sexual frustrations, he knew he would never be with one.

The beam of light from Marion’s room also suggests that she is possibly his only way out from his mother’s side but the overwhelming darkness of his mother side takes over.

This is again Hitchcock trying to give little insights into Norman’s brain, and the power that his mother had over him. The way he uses mise-en-scene with the use of low key lighting is especially powerful because it gives you this two-faced, unnerving feel to Norman’s psycho killer archetype.

'PSYCHO' (1960) Opening Title Sequence Analysis

This is the Opening Title Sequence from ‘PSYCHO’. It introduces the word ‘PSYCHO’, then it suddenly breaks and distorts just like you can see in this still image, the middle section then begins to alternate from side to side creating movement. This connotes disorientation due to the fact that the word starts of whole then breaks over and over. This is further backed up by some parallel music created with harsh and unsettling violins. To me, I think this connotes to the psychological background to certain characters, them being Norman and Marion. It also connotes to the split personality and schizophrenia and links to the real life serial killer Ed Gein, who was arrested in 1957. It is in the dead centre of the frame indicating its importance with using the rule of thirds. This then turns into a montage of different lines coming in from different angles and transitions introducing the rest of the credits.

The visual clues in the title montage is already keeping you on your toes, not knowing what is going to happen next, which very much replicates Hitchcock’s “Master of Suspense” auteur style a theory made by the critic Andrew Sarris in his essay “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962”. Saul Bass's credits are very unsettling and almost creates optical illusions in front of you again linking very closely with the mind of Norman.

Land of the Dead (2005) Review

Film Title: Land of the Dead

Year of Production: 2005

Director: George A. Romero

Genre/Genres: Horror/Sci-fi

Humans have lost the battle against zombies, who’ve developed advanced military tactics, and are barricaded in a city ruled by ruthless despots.

The two scenes that impressed me most were the scenes that I felt conveyed the most power, largely down to the auteur effect of George A. Romero. The first scene I was most impressed with was the scene where ‘Cholo’ one of the leading characters decided to take himself and few of team to an off-license store. In the middle of a zombie apocalypse this showed a lot of greed, especially with the only thing he had taken being alcohol that he was going to sell on. This scene resulted in the biting of one of his team by a zombie, resulting in his death. To me, this scene was very powerful because it immediately shows George A. Romero’s opinion on consumerism. This scene very much conveys the greed of consumerism is something that is major problem which he voiced throughout this scene. My other scene that I was most impressed with was the scene right at the very end of the film where there is a point of view shot of Riley looking through his binoculars and sees the black protagonist zombie and he says “They’re looking for a place to go. Just like us.” This is again voicing the opinions of George A. Romero. The black man is the only zombie that drove the zombies forward; he killed all the people perceived to be bad, making him a hero, which goes against almost all horror conventions.

This film was a great insight into understanding horror. There were many different features that contributed to this film, for example: Expressionist angles (opening zombie scene), along with the quick editing and slow moving monsters also in that scene. There was clear body horror throughout the film but we were first introduced in the first shooting scene, there was quick editing after the fireworks stopped at ten minutes in, there was very effective collision cutting in the shopping scene that I mentioned on the previous question. There was both contrapuntal music (when the advert comes on at 7 minutes) and parallel music (building tension at 42 minutes). There was a theme of ‘a threat to yourself and family’ where the black zombie starts working a gun at 18 minutes. Riley is perceived to be the male hero shown throughout the film but especially when he saves the woman when she is about to get eaten by zombies. The woman he saved, named Slack was the final girl shown by her fighting skills and toughness in that same scene. There was a creepy, enclosed location called the Kaufman building shown by a point of view shot from the black zombie looking up at the massive structure. All of these factors made it a great film to analyse because it had many conventions of horror but it also manipulated a few, making it very interesting to watch.

The aspects that stood out most for me was the hidden auteur feelings, getting across the beliefs and feelings of George A. Romero. I thought throughout the film this was very effective, making the film a lot more interesting to watch and analyse, for instance in the scene where there is an argument between Riley and Cholo about Cholo going to the shop and risking their lives. Cholo later on died, therefore showing Romero’s thoughts on consumerism. I would also like to make the characters in my film as interesting as the ones in this film, you get really attached to them, this is shown by the scene where Riley is talking about Charlie saving his life just as much as he has his, calling them ‘”equal”.

There aren’t many aspects of this film that I would like to avoid but I would avoid the excessive use of body horror. I think that this takes the edge off the horror and makes it less scary, as seen in the scene with the female victim named ‘Motown’ at 1 hour 4 minutes. Another aspect I would avoid is the use of violence along with montage as much as it was used. Again, it took the edge off the horror and made it less scary, it didn’t allow for mind tricks to kick in. For instance, in the scene where the zombies reach the main city, they almost kill everything in their path.

I think the best moment in this film were the black zombie blows up both Cholo and Mr. Kaufman, resulting in the burning money flying everywhere. This is an incredibly powerful scene on Romero’s views on consumerism and racism; it shows the amount of power the black zombie has by making him the protagonist, and him blowing up the consumerists. This protagonist really creates a strong theme showing George A. Romero’s anti-racist beliefs towards these subjects. I can recreate this in my trailer by doing to the same as Romero, putting my soul into it, to get my feelings across.

George A. Romero is a very clever director and his influence as an auteur was vital to this film. Romero often links heavily to his beliefs and the context at the time. For instance in Dawn of the Dead (1978) he often addressed issues about racism and consumerism at the time, this was when there were almost no black heroes in films, black people were still seen as secondary to the whites. Also this was with the rise of shopping malls, meaning that consumerism was becoming more of an problem.  This is where his auteur style came in, he put all of his beliefs into his films and ‘Land of the Dead’ (2005) is another replication of this. Land of the dead has the same underlying social commentary as Dawn of the Dead with addressing the issues of racism and consumerism. However, they were addressed for different context, in 2005 there were the Cronella riots which were 0over racial and ethnic tensions, plus consumerism was at all-time high, becoming more apparent and influential as ever. Along with his own beliefs this then become a feature of LOTD, shown by these example: 9 minutes into the film there is a scene where the protagonist black zombie starts to take control. They use fireworks as distractions for the zombies and it fooled all of them but hi m, which led to the first shooting scene. He was smarter than all the other zombies and he began to teach them. This shows the black zombie has the most power and is extremely influential; showing Romero’s anti-racism beliefs which links strongly to Romero himself due to his half-Cuban heritage. Another example is a scene on 12 minutes where the Latin American Cholo takes himself and a couple of his team to an abandoned off-license store, in the middle of a mission. He says “shop till you drop” just before opening a cupboard and getting attacked by a zombie, narrowly missing death. Further into the scene one of his team reach behind the counter to get some more stuff, he gets bitten by a zombie and then commits suicide. This again shows Romero’s beliefs that people are too materialistic. My last example is a scene I have already talked about but is probably the most powerful scene in the film. This is the scene where the black zombie blows up both Cholo and Mr. Kaufman along with the bags of money, the money then explodes on fire in front of the camera. This rolls both Romero’s thoughts on racism and consumerism into one. It firstly shows black power with the black zombie killing two white individuals; secondly it shows that money means nothing in the end, it just makes you greedy and doesn’t make you any better of a person.

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