Media Studies has really opened my eyes to the world of film. I used to just watch films when I had spare time, and I usually only re-watched the ones I knew I liked. Now, I watch films much more frequently, I’m more interested, I watch films which take me out of my comfort zone, and I properly focus on them rather than just having something on in the background.
However, this means I’m much more critical of films that I watch. I notice mistakes in films too, and the one I watched last night had several. For example, after a battle with zombies which resulted in several zombies being shredded by a motor boat, the water became immediately calm and blood free. When the survivors are driving to escape the toxic gas, the windshield is covered in blood, which disappears in the next shot, then reappears. When a man was set on fire, I didn’t feel that sorry for him at all; mainly because the fire proof gloves on his hands were pretty obvious.
The plot itself was also disappointing. The acting was bad, and I didn’t empathise with the characters at all. If anything, I was hoping the zombies would catch up with them.
The film begins with a couple, Don and Alice, hiding in a cottage just outside London with a few other survivors. They let a terrified young boy into the cottage with them, only to find out that the ‘Infected’ (the zombies) have followed the boy straight to them. The Infected chase Don, Alice and the young boy upstairs. Don escapes out of a window, ignoring Alice’s desperate cries for help. Don escapes in a boat, shredding the zombies with the motor.
A later scene shows Don reunited with his children (Tammy and Andy). He tells them that he saw their mother attacked and killed by the Infected, and does not tell them the truth; that he left her to die and saved himself.
That night, Andy has a nightmare about forgetting his mother. The older sister, Tammy, takes Andy back to their old house, despite it being outside the safe zone, to get a photo of her. I actually found this scene incredibly sweet; the connection between the two of them comes across well, and the fact she is willing to risk so much for her little brother is touching. Back at the house, Andy finds his mother, semi-conscious in their attic. Soldiers then arrive at the house, having followed Andy and Tammy, and take all three of them back to the safe zone.
Their mother is tested, and is found to be a carrier of the virus, yet doesn’t show the rage that the Infected usually show. The doctor, Scarlet, believes Alice could possibly be the key to a cure or a vaccine, and tells the soldiers not to shoot her, despite how infectious she is. However, Don sneaks into the room she is being held in, and begs her to forgive him. They kiss, but the virus in her saliva infects Don, who acts just as the other infected people do, and kills her instantly. He then escapes, killing and infecting people all round the building.
After this, it’s mainly just fighting. Scarlet, the doctor, recognises Tammy and Andy as Alice’s children, and thinks they could now be the key to a cure, so tries to protect them at all costs. The soldiers are ordered to ‘abandon selective targeting’ and just shoot everyone since they cannot tell the difference between those who are infected and those who are not. The children, Scarlet, and a soldier named Doyle all escape, but Andy is later attacked by his own father, and becomes a carrier of the virus like his mother. The film ends with the words ‘twenty-eight days later’ on the screen, and a French voice on the radio asking for help. A group of the Infected are shown running through a tunnel, and as they emerge, it shows a view of the Eiffel tower. The virus has spread.
The film is all very dark; some of the scenes are hard to follow, as the lighting is very low and the camera shots are shaky. I don’t think the film is particularly ‘scary’, and the fake blood is massively over-used. Maybe I just think this because horror films aren’t really my thing; but I really wasn’t overly impressed with this film.
Zombieland is certainly not the kind of film which would be my first choice. When my boyfriend suggested it, I rolled my eyes and told myself I’d just sit through it in the hope that he’d watch My Fair Lady with me at some point.
It had three of my favourite actors in it – Jesse Eisenberg (who’s adorable), Woody Harrelson (who’s so badass), and Emma Stone (who’s just great). It also featured one of my least favourite actresses, Abigail Breislin, but I forced myself to look past her obnoxious ways and focus on the zombies…
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