28 Days Later Texual analyses

The scene starts of with a fade in and we see a cross, its seems to be a close up of the cross. We already know that we are in a church. It is really quiet, it gives a sense of uncertainty, something is not right. (Builds up tension already). Then a mysterious character opens the church doors and as we are still in the same shot it could reflect the fact that this character has just entered a church, we can also see the cross. The character is on his own, this shows vulnerability and insecurity. It’s all gloomy and as a viewer I am already expecting to see some action or have a fright. However the fact that we can still see the cross shows us that even though the scene looks dark, gloomy and there is a sense of vulnerability there is hope for this particular character. The character could be in a safe place? Or maybe as an audience we will get what we want weather it’s a fright or action, yet the character might escape? We still don't know but we do know something is about to go down. Also the camera angle puts the character in a weak position, the camera is at a low angle giving this character very little strength in this certain scene, it could even show that he is frightened. But what is he frightened of? Then the character approaches the cross really slowly. We hear a lot of amplified sounds (Creeks of the door and the wooden floor. Also the footsteps).

Then we get to the next shot which again doesn't move just like the first one, except here the camera was lower and we see our still mysterious character slowly approach the camera. It's still clear that this character is in the same church as again we see a cross, however the cross is in the shadows and we still have no idea who this man or woman is, his/her face is shadowed. The last few scenes seem to have a dead feeling about them, there is no movement, there is barely any sound and there is only one person in the scenes we have seen. Something is bound to happen; we are bound to see something. Then the man/woman goes up the stairs and the camera shifts a bit and very slowly so that we are able to see writing on the wall. At this point we know that something is up, why would there be writing on a church wall? The writing is really roughly done, it looks wet and its really untidy. This scene I think builds a lot of tension.

We finally realise that this character is a man. He comes out of the mist. Coming out of the mist and the fact that he is a man who looks well-built comforts the audience a bit. However the tension builds as we get a close up of our characters facial expression and the sound of flies shows that something gruesome is on its way and prepares the audience to see a monster or a corps.

We hear a loud church bell. Then the camera zooms out to show us what the character is looking at. A lot of dead corpses in the church. We also hear a screeching sound. All asynchronous just to build up tension and fear to the audience.

Another close up so we can see the actual reaction of our protagonist. He seems shocked and so he should, he also looks scared. He is breathing very heavily. We get to see the corpses again this time closer and the camera turns so we get the full extent of the tragedy. Then the protagonist speaks. "Hello". And again the piano or church bell asynchronously sounds and two more unknown characters sprout quickly which shocks us because it is the only quick tempo part of the scene.

We begin to hear a very loud and quick synchronous sound, getting louder and louder every time. Bang the doors slam open and another mysterious character enters our screens. The character is already stepping back knowing the danger that would soon head towards him. The character makes really loud choking sounds. Our protagonist says father. So now we know that the other character is a priest. However we don't like his presence and neither does our protagonist. The priest spases out of control. I think that we as an audience are more on the edge than our protagonist as he calmly approaches the situation as he clams the priest down. However we know that this effort is useless as the priest approaches the protagonist in an agressive way. Our protagonist finally realises that this is no friendly priest. He is scared and is starting to step back rather quickly. The shots speed up and the protagonist finally does what the audience expect, the action. He hits the priest's head almost knocking him out.

He runs whilst the priest is down. The score is played and the tempo speeds up. As the character runs away the way he came from. The wall with the writing. And the cross. We also see alot of the same type of characters as the priest chase after him.

We are now out on the streets. The tension is now at its high point. The chase scene, he is out numbered. There is fire everywhere. The streets are in chaos. And the shots are speeding up. And our protagonist i struggling to even catch his breath. Then out of nowhere these masked people start throwing Molotov’s. Burning all these undead zombies, saving our protagonist. Now the good has finally balanced out the evil of the scene. Our protagonist is safe and we are relaxed again. We always enjoy when a bad guy gets defeated. The amplified sound of the smashing Molotov’s and the fire burning the zombies. The screaming of the burning undead. It's a street battle scene. Yes there is chaos but aslong as our protagonist is safe we relax a bit even though the score is playing fast and the shots are speeding up.

We get a close up of our masked friends setting up a trap and telling our protagonist to get down. Then they get the hell back and BOOM!

In a whole it is clear that this scene belongs to a thriller, a scary thriller perhaps. It is given away by the fast editing; the noise (amplified synchronous sounds (footsteps etc.) and diegetic (zombie priest)). The scene keeps us at the edge of our seat. The sound of footsteps, the creepy and very slow score at the beginning which speeds up at the end (the chase scene). It can be very hard to describe why something keeps you at the end of your seat, when something gets you in a panic, but when you look at the techniques it becomes obvious. It's just when things go quickly, or when we pick out our protagonist, somehow we just worry for him/her, when our score is loud and has a fast tempo. In this scene it has it all and that’s how I know it is a hybrid thriller.