Zombie Horror Films

Presented by Teri C. and Becca C.

     Common Settings Desolate towns 

Medical Buildings City streets 

Science Exploratory Buildings 

Condemned Sites Rural areas: woods, farms

Nighttime or during storms

Characters• The Undead • Surviors • Leader of the group/ hero that tries to keep

everybody alive • Government Organizations • Scientists• Voodoo priest/priestess (Only in certain

types of zombie films)

 

Notable Actors • Bela Lugosi 

• Madge Bellamy • Duane Jones

• Judith O'Dea • Sarah Polley • Mekhi Phifer

Story Lines

• Zombie Attacks • The Apocalypse• Viral Outbreak that causes people to

become infected and causes them to be quarantined. Quarantine is always broken.

• Often follow a group of survivors as they attempt to make it through what is left of their world

 

Common Scenes ChasesFights Gore 

Attacks/ Invasions Anticipation (Survivors

waiting for the next attack, generally cued

by dramatic music)

Iconography

• Brains • Shovels • Cemeteries• Blood• Severed limbs • Weapons • Dirt • Dilapidated Buildings • And of course, Zombies!

Visual Style • Grungy, dark lighting and filters• Claustrophobic Shots • Apocalyptic (High angles of decimated cities,

shots of deserted streets, etc.) • Low angle power shots of heroes, especially

the Leader  

Soundtrack • Generally the soundtrack is parallel to the

mood of the movie; if the zombies are about to attack the music picks up to increase a feeling of creepiness or dread

• If there is a fight scene between two parties then the music gets the audience pumped by upping the tempo 

• Instrumental sections beat parallel to the action of the scene

Notable Films • Classic Films: Night of the Living Dead, White Zombie • Modern Films: Dawn of the Dead (2004), Resident Evil, Doom, Silent Hill, and many others.

  White Zombie:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoGrPDP-aAQ

Night of the Living Dead:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxME9TeoxyQ Dawn of the Dead:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LUzJAsa-gg 

Film Clips