Zombieland (2009)

The opening title sequence of the film “Zombieland” communicates to viewers an overall sense of chaos and mayhem as the world is turned upside down by zombies. During the title sequence the appearance of hungry savaged zombies, lots of blood, and people running or being chased gives the viewer the obvious conclusion of a zombie attack or invasion on the common world. What also helps give the viewer this idea is the transitions of scenes showing people of different occupations, different settings, and ages, all mixed together in great disorder. From a wedding, to a strip club, and even a prison, zombies are a common denominator interrupting and taking over these everyday activities and places in the world, hence the name zombieland. The images are shown in slow motion to give a dramatic effect of freezing the action in place, while also giving the viewer time to take in and absorb all the violence and commotion going on and the absurdity of the images which adds a touch of comedic relief. The music playing during the title sequence “For Whom the Bells Toll” by Metallica, is upbeat and jarring adding to the harsh and vicious ambience of the sequence. The raw and aggressive voice of the lead singer against the loud drums in the song don’t help ease the uncomfortable killing mood. Throughout the sequence the credits are displayed in bold red typography that pairs well with the bloody images. A cool effect added to the images of the sequence to make the visuals more wild is people and objects crashing into the written credits to show anything and everything is being destroyed or at risk of destruction during the zombie havoc. One example is how the screen was made to look like shattered glass as a person breaks the screen with a golf club. The design aspects such as texture, motion, and color really help establish the scary and crazy tone of a zombie apocalypse.