Dawn of the Dead (2004) image analysis - 3

This scene from Dawn of the Dead (2004) finalises all of the action as we witness the last remaining characters sail off to find safety on an island. Unlike more conventional horror films, the remaining characters include a female, a black man and a young couple. Ana’s character represents the female survivor although her characteristics aren’t particularly conventional as she’s a fairly attractive and has blonde hair. However, she is understated, has tied-up hair, tomboyish and very intelligent which are both common features of a female survivor.

Another noticeable feature of the film is the way American flags are incorporated throughout different scenes. This could relate to the historical context and how the film incorporated small features like the flags in order to support American culture following the terrible attacks of 9/11 and the following Iraq War.

Shortly after we see the survivors sail off to the island, collision cutting is used between the credits and footage from a handheld camera as they try to sail to a safe island. This is a very stylistic ending that reinforces aspects of the genre in order for the audience to feel shocked and disturbed. For example, the collision cutting makes the audience a little more on edge as they can’t see all of the action that’s happening; similarly, the handheld camera and canted angles contribute towards creating a feeling of disorientation and confusion. This sequence works alongside the parallel music to emphasize the dramatic cuts from credits to footage; for example the sounds of scratches on the tape and lyrics like “down with the sickness” add to theme of death and disease present throughout the film. The quick shots during the credits contrast well with the slowness and sadness of this scene of Ana.

As the final few shots of Dawn of the Dead (2004) are close ups of zombies staring into the camera, the audience are able to interpret what may have happened which demonstrates the effectiveness of an unhappy ending. For example, the screams and amount of zombies that appear allows the audience to assume that the island was unsafe and all of the survivors were now dead.