The sequence follows on from the awaking of the protagonist
Jim (Cillian Murphy) from his spell in coma to find that he has awoken in a
zombie infected Britain caused by the ‘rage’ virus. In the sequence suspense
and tension is created through the use of the high angle shot looking down at
both our protagonist and at a wooden cross. The high angle shot is framed
within a frame to isolate the protagonist and to emphasise his insignificance behind
this rather brooding and sinister looking cross which is also used to connote
that we are in a church through the religious symbolism of the object. The use
of low key lighting in the shot is also very important as it portrays the
protagonist stepping into the darkness from the light which emphasises menace.
It is an image that contrasts with the positive associations of church through
the visual representations of light. This is a common technique that we see
being used a lot in the horror genre.
We can also see that the low key lighting
is very dark and expressive to create this tense and eerie atmosphere which
foreshadows the immediate presence of danger later on in the narrative. In the
shot sound is also effective in constructing tension and suspense as the
diegetic sound of the church doors opening echoes in the distance, this creates
this tense and eerie atmospheric effect and conveys further the existence of
vulnerability and isolation in sanctual grounds. The next shot is a low angle tilt shot which denotes a
message splashed on the wall “Repent! The end is very fucking nigh.” The use of
the low angle tilt shot to convey this message refers to more religious
symbolism in the form of the book of revelations to suggest that humanity may
be at an end and the ceremonial idea of praying and worshiping God has no
influence to eradicate the ‘rage’ virus. Yet again the lighting in the shot remains
low key to create this depressive and morbid tone for the scene and to
correspond with the message on display.
A medium close up shot of the protagonist follows. The shot
denotes his rather pale and blank expression and conveys the fragile nature of his
character. The diegetic sound of the fly buzzing is a precursor for the sudden
horror induced on the audience. Tension is reinforced further by sound through
the use of the heavy presence of church bells and guitar chords in the score
which is designed to create this shock and awe effect for the audience as the camera
pans to a high angle point of view shot, which is slightly canted to denote the
chapel littered with bodies. The canted angle creates this disorientating
effect to express the graphic nature of the shot and to portray the
psychological uneasiness the protagonist is feeling. It also conveys the sudden
terror and realization that amongst the bodies some of the zombies are still
alive despite the fact that many of them look dead.
A shot employing deep focus is used. It denotes the
protagonist in the foreground and the priest in the background. The recurrent
long shots of the priest denote his rapid and generic movement and connotes
that he is indeed infected. Tension begins to rise steadily as fast cuts are
used frequently to reciprocate with the action occurring on screen, this
further intensifies the sense of sudden fear and anxiety that the protagonist
is feeling as the priest begins to proceed towards him and at quite a pace. The
long shots of the priest contrast with the low angle to medium close up shots of
Jim which convey his intimidation and the shots vary between cuts to show that
he is unsure and helpless to judge whether the priest is a human or if he is
not, hence the repetition of the word “father,” which is undermined further as
he comes closer and the priests state becomes more apparent. The use of shot
reverse shot becomes more vigorous and the edits become faster and less stable
which culminates in the protagonist hitting the priest with a bag which is
synchronous with his motion. More religious imagery is used in the form of the
priest, a man of God who has been implicated by the virus. Religion is
identified as a critical theme due to its repeated use in the sequence through
symbols, figures and texts. A shot reverse shot of the protagonist fleeing and
the infected priest on floor portrays the protagonist’s sense of confusion and
panic.
The extreme close up shot shows the state of the priest and allows the
audience to get a more detailed and accurate perspective of the level of the
infection.
Non diegetic underscoring is used to emphasize the sudden
panic that ensues. The sharp orchestral stabbing of violins can be heard and
the non-diegetic music starts to increase in volume and pace as the protagonist
gives chase to zombies. The urgency of the predicament is further portrayed
through two mid shots of the protagonist frantically running down the stairs. A
canted extreme long shot of the zombies running out of the church creates this
feeling of helplessness and uneasiness for the protagonist as the audience are
left in suspense as we are unaware of Jim’s whereabouts.
The high angle shot of the cross is used again and is almost
identical to the first shot to show that the protagonist has left the darkness
and has returned to the light. However this is not the case as the outer
environment is as bleak and exposed as the interior of the church. Yet again
the low key lighting in the shot of the cross remains the same and suggests
that the protagonist is not clear of danger yet.
A high angle point of shot from a window denotes the
protagonist running. The use of the high angle point of view shot connotes that
he is being watched and this could indicate the presence of humans. As he runs,
long shots are used to portray his isolation and further emphasize his panic
this is further resonated by the asynchronous guitar riff. The rapid movements of the zombies can also be
seen in the background through the use of long over the shoulder shots and long
shots show of the crowd of zombies giving chase. Often in horror movies zombies
are stereotypically typecast to being mindless, shambling flesh eaters. However
in recent movies such as 28 Days Later and
Dawn of The Dead (to name a few) they have been portrayed as being more
apt, intelligent and in some ways more ruthless, challenging the conventions of
the ‘zombie’ and developing is further as a subgenre. Two new characters are introduced to the sequence. The use
of CCTV camera footage denotes the pair wearing gas masks and throwing petrol
bombs this shows that they are survivors. The camera cuts between CCTV high
angle long shots to medium close up shot of them. There all black uniform
suggests that they might be anarchists and this might also link back to the
opening sequence of the film were anarchists broke into an animal testing lab
which is the origin of the ‘rage’ virus.
The
use of the shot through the lens of the CCTV is used for ironic purposes to
show the false sense of security that still exists in this apocalyptical
portrayal of Britain and also shows that due to the destabilisation of law and
order authority exists to anarchists who yet again are ironically depicted to
be anti-government and anti-authoritarian.
The intensity of the scene continues through sound, editing
and kinetic camera movements. The use of the tracking shot of the two fulfils
the audiences expectations that the protagonist will be saved. One of the
characters shouts “over here” to the protagonist dominating the diegetic sound
in the scene. The use of sound and special effects are visible through the
diegetic sound of the petrol bombs glass smashing and reminds us of the pair’s
threat. Through the use of the long shot which denotes a petrol station special
effects are seen when the camera cuts to the explosion.
An extreme long shot of a city’s skyline denotes the recognisable
towers of canary wharf so this provides us with evidence that we are in London.
However this is destroyed by the explosion. Montage and overlapping fast edits
are used to convey the sheer scale and ferocity of the explosion. The camera
also cuts back to the two masked characters during the montage to reinforce the
idea of victory as the Skyline goes up in smoke.
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