Dawn of the Dead (2004): Image analysis 3

This scene from DOTD shows how there are still changes in the horror genre to keep it fresh, but how there will always be some generic convention included in the films. This is the final shot of the movie and we can see that some of the group have escaped. This includes Ana, who is the archetypal final girl of the movie. What is different about her is that she has blonde hair which is normally stereotypical of the female victim. However her hair is up in a ponytail. This connotes an almost ‘tomboy’ feel to the character. And apart from the hair she has all the characteristics of a final girl. The best example of how she isn’t a victim is when she is the one that discovers that it is the bites that cause the zombie infection, even before the two male heroes. Also she is a nurse, which is a very stereotypical female job. However this makes her quite powerful yet caring character. This allows her to saves people life while also keeping their hopes you and not letting them panic and losing their heads.

 Modern horror movies recently seem to be very pro America since the 9/11 attacks. Characters seem to be strong American characters that defeat evil/deformed characters. Also the flag is appearing in many horror movies and connotes America. We can see it on the left of Ana flapping in the wind, showing an American victory. Also this is in a scene from The Hills Have Eyes in which the character kills a giant infected man with an American flag. This has been done a lot more to show that America isn’t weak since the recent crisis both at home at in the Middle East.

Ending of horror movies are very stereotypical, and it is the same in DOTD. This final shot shows the character getting away and thinking it is a happy ending, However in a post credit scene we see the boats reaching an island only to have zombies on it. We never fully know what happens. This is a perfect example of Schatz’s genre theory. The director Zack Snyder is keeping the genre conventions but is keeping enough variety to maintain interest. Without twists in the genre then the audiences would lose interest in the genre and wouldn’t come and see films, as they would know everything that is going to happen.