Dawn of the Dead (2004) image analysis - 1

This scene from Dawn of the dead (2004) demonstrates the representation of a male hero and a quick moving monster. For example, in comparison to Dawn of the dead (1978) the zombies can move much more quickly which makes them seem more threatening and dangerous; this can make the audience find them a lot scarier. This also relates to the film’s institutional context; for example, in 1978 body horror was still really closely monitored and restricted, however, after the 1990s the restrictions and violence and sex became less dominating which meant films could include more body horror and in general, make the films a lot scarier for the audience to watch. Due to this, a lot more zombies are killed in this film which represents how much easier the quick moving monsters are to kill than the slow moving monsters. The male hero (Michael) featured in this shot also follows typical generic conventions; for example, he’s white, admired by the other characters, is reasonably muscular and carries weapons.

However, the high key lighting, location and cinematography go against the stereotypical horror films which can make the film feel as though there is more action than horror. For example, this scene takes place outside in the bright, open space and lots of long shots are used. This gives the film less of an eerie, scary feeling and instead, the main focus is on the battle between zombie and human.  Again, this links to the institutional context; as the horror genre progressed and restrictions on body horror became minimal it allowed more action to be included in the film. Therefore battle/fight scenes like this one in Dawn of the Dead are more commonly used.

The use of point of view shots in this scene emphasizes the action element as we go from seeing the character, to a shot of a zombie being shot; this almost imitates the style of fighting seen in video games. However, lots of elements of body horror are present throughout the film in particularly in this scene when the zombies are shot and run over by a large truck; this reinforces the element of body horror as the audience feel grossed out or shudder as they witness the blood and gore.

In these early stages of the film, some ideologies could be interpreted by the audience; for example, excluding Ana, the majority of the female characters are portrayed as being weak and unhelpful. Instead, it is the male character that will carry weapons and participate in fighting the zombies, this could suggest misogyny is being used which reinforces the typical media conventions of the horror genre. However, by the end we realise that the film actually challenges the stereotypical character representations.