Textual Analysis Of the Opening Sequence Of A Horror Movie: 28 Days Later

28 Days Later’ is a zombie-horror film released in 2002. Directed by Danny Boyle, it depicts the UK 28 days after a powerful virus that “locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage” is released, hence the title ‘28 Days Later’. From the very first scene this film can be identified as being part of the horror genre.

The first scene is shot in a primate research facility. We initially see a chimpanzee strapped to a table being forced to watch scenes of violence. The violence is a hint of what is to come. The lighting is dark and shadowy, creating an air of mystery. Some of the lights are also red, reflecting the anger and danger that will happen. The darkness is increased by the animal rights activists that break in as they are dressed all in black.

As well as the darkness and shadow, sound is key to revealing the movie as a horror. The sound from the TV sets that the chimpanzee is forced to watch is very crackly and fades into an eerie violin piece. When the shot cuts to the activists, you can hear the other primates held in captivity screeching and banging on their cages, furthering the hint of a violent movie.

The anger the primates already show is exacerbated by the flash of the camera the activists are using to take photographs of them in their cages, made known by the screeching increasing in volume. Primates are also known to be incredibly violent, so when the scientist they find on duty tells the other characters and audience that the animals are infected with a powerful rage virus he is basically telling the audience that the virus is about to be spread to humans and create the basis of the film.

The two colours used in abundance for this sequence are black and red, both of which connote danger and violence. When the activists ignore the scientist’s warning and open the cage, lights start flashing and the shots get a red filter as the chimp inside attacks the woman. The red ‘theme’ is carried on by showing those infected have red eyes and usually have blood around their mouths as they throw it up. The virus is also carried in the blood, making this definitive code of horror films a prop to infect others.

During the chimp attack, the camera is in soft focus and the lights are constantly flashing. Combined with the tilted angle shot used and the rapid cuts, the audience has trouble seeing the attack which adds to the fear, yet screaming from the victim lets the audience know the attack is still happening. Most of the shot distances used are either extreme close ups, close ups or medium close ups. This shows the audience the fear on the faces of the characters and can generate a reaction from them, be it fear or excitement.