Genre: Horror
Brief Plot Outline:
T.V camera crew for the show ‘While you’re Asleep’ follow firemen around their duties. The firemen get called to a building where a woman is trapped inside a room, they soon find out that there is a virus that the people living on in the building have caught from a dog, this virus turns them into ‘zombie demons’ but they only catch it if they are bitten or exchange saliva in some way with a zombie demon. We see camera man Pablo and reporter Angela try to escape the building but they have all been locked in the building by the police and medical professionals, one by one the survivors turn into zombie demons whilst trying to find an escape route, until Pablo and Angela are they only two survivors left. As Angela and Pablo are routing through the building to try and find any glimpse of an escape route they come across a room where the walls are filled with newspaper clippings, this is when the audience and also the characters find out that the virus started from a possessed girl from Portugal. A loft hatch opens and the demon falls through and attacks both Angela and Pablo, the camera falls to the floor and we cannot see anything just Angela calling for Pablo we then see a close up of Angela’s face as she is trying to crawl towards the camera until she is abruptly pulled from behind and into the darkness.
Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?
1. The first scene that impressed me was when the old lady that they first find to have the virus is shot, and Angela and Pablo rewind the footage so they can see what actually happened and then what to say when the documentary is aired. This makes the film seem more ‘real’ to me, it is also quite ‘funny’ in a way as even though the situation they are involved in is obviously very serious and dangerous, Angela is still worried about how the documentary will turn out. This is much like what stereotypical journalists/reporters are seen to be in the media, that they will go to any lengths to get a good story.
2.The second scene which impressed me was the end seen where Angela is pulled away from the camera and into the darkness, this leaves an open ending as we don’t know for sure if she is alive or dead.
How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?
This film has helped me to understand this genre of film making as, by using handheld camera throughout and capturing peoples ‘real’ reactions and emotions makes the audience feel as though they are really there and watching these events first hand, which in turn makes the film a lot scarier. This film also shows that you don’t have to use a lot of gore in order for a zombie film to be successful, as unlike many other zombie films the gore seen is this film is fairly minimal.
Quick monsters – Zombie demons
Female survivor/Final girl – Angela
Male hero – Manu (fireman) although Manu is seen as the male hero, he also turns into a zombie which creates a shocking plot twist.
Theme of Violence and Body horror – Especially when the people are bitten, also when the fireman falls from the top of the stairs into the foyer where everyone is standing. The goriest scene in the film would be when they have the fireman that has been bitten in the ‘isolation room’ and they are trying to cure his wound and you see a close up of the wound in his neck.
Creepy Location – The upstairs room in the apartment building, and the loft.
Low key lighting – This is more towards the end of the film where the only lighting is from the video camera.
Skewed angle – The best example of this is the end scene of the film where the camera has been dropped on the floor and we see Angela be dragged into the darkness.
Handheld camera – Used throughout the film.
Point of view shots – This would be all of the film, from Pablo’s point of view as he is the person filming the entire time.
Isolation – There are some examples of isolation as the survivors isolate the infected people into different rooms.
Close ups – There are a few close ups of people’s faces, especially Angela’s at times where she is expressing the most emotion mainly being scared, also when just before she is pulled into the darkness at the end of the film. Another example is the close up of the wound on the fireman’s neck.
Collision cutting – An example of this would be when Angela and Pablo are frantically rooting through the room trying to find the key to escape, the scenes are full of sound and movement. But when the demon falls from the loft hatch the scene is suddenly quiet with no movement as Angela and Pablo are trying not to be heard.
Montage – An example of this would be when Angela and Pablo see the newspaper clippings across the walls, and there are short quick shots of different areas of the room.
Open ending – This film has an open ending as although we see Angela dragged away we do not know for sure whether she is dead or alive.
Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?
1.I would like to include the handheld camera through my trailer as I find it a lot scarier as it seems real and as if the audience are actually there. Also unlike other films the audience cannot see everything in the scene, only what the first-person cameraman can see which also makes the viewing much more restricted and creates suspense.
2.I would also like the include the darkness and low-key lighting again because the audience cannot see everything which in turn makes it more troubling for them to watch as their viewing is restricted and suspense is created.
Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?
I would maybe like to avoid some of the body horror scenes such as when you see the wound on the fireman’s neck where he has been bitten, I didn’t mind this as much but when the close up of the injection was seen into the wound, this was a bit much for me personally.
What was the best aspect/more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How?
My personal favourite scene in the film was the end scene, where Angela is pulled away from the camera. I could create this in my own trailer using collision cutting or possibly montage of lots of short quick shots from different scenes in the film and then have a slow shot of her crawling towards the camera before she is pulled back into the darkness.
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