This clip from the film Zombieland occurs towards the end of the film with a final chase scene from the zombies. The world has been taken over by zombies and with only four people seemingly left alive, this movie shows their fight for survival. In the clip the two female protagonists are running away from the zombies in a theme park with only one gun to protect them from hundreds of zombies. The location of a theme park is ironic as theme parks are associated with happiness and a very public place whereas they are frightened and alone with just them and the zombies, facing death.
The use of mise en scene is also used ironically with the theme park lights all around them during the chase scene, these contrast to the idea of them running from death and suffering. Other than these theme park lights placed around the corners of the shots there is little other light as the clip takes place at night on a day where it was raining as puddles cover the floor this is also pathetic fallacy as it matches the mood of the clip. The girls then take cover in a yellow hummer, this is also contrasting to the movie as it is representing normality which obviously the movie is not as it’s a zombie outbreak and gives them a sense of safety, security and freedom within a car. The sense of freedom is in contrast to the zombie attack as they are unable to do things they would have been able to do before. The audience can also see this as a symbol of hope giving them a false impression of being saved which inevitably does not happen when the zombies smash through the windows of the car and continue to attack the girls. The car also helps to build tension as when the girls get in the car they fail to start it quickly giving the zombies time to catch up and break in. Guns are a prominent prop in this film and again in this clip. The girls have one gun between them at the start of the clip later acquiring another as a form of protection against the zombies. The guns represent power and strength which alone can equal/overpower the zombies which they would not have been able to do without them.
The use of camera includes a variety of different shots collectively building anticipation, disorientation and tension. At the start of the clip as the girls are running there are a lot of shot reverse shots showing their point of view and the zombies as they slowly catch up, there are also hand held shots which disorientate the audience putting them in the position of the two female characters. There are long shots of the theme park showing the girls in the distance and a large number of zombies which shows the proportions and scale of the problem facing them and leading the audience to believe there is even less chance that they will be able to escape as they are vastly outnumbered. There are also close ups of the zombies faces, showing the blood around there mouths and hands representing that they are blood thirsty and eat meat/humans, this creates fear among the audience.
Throughout this clip there is non digetic music playing. The music is fast and energetic which helps not to build too much tension and fear in the clip as it’s a comedy not a horror genre. However the music also helps to build tension as when the girls escape from the zombies for about 10 seconds of the film the music stops, building tension among the audience in anticipation as the zombies reappear. The on and off scream digetic of the zombies groaning helps build anticipation as you can hear even when they are off screen that there are lots of them there and they are getting closer. This will give the audience a sense of fear and help build tension.
The pace of editing is predominantly fast in this clip to create a sense of action and tension as the girls try to escape from the zombies. With mainly short shots and quick cuts this will disorientate the audience putting them in the position of the female characters. The pace of editing slows down when the zombies are not around to contrast to the chase scene and puts the audience more at ease, with longer shots of the girls and less cuts before again speeding up once the zombies start to return.
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