1. Zombie Land (2009, USA)
Survival, and to find unity.
1. intro – finding each other
2. Act 1 – being tricked by girls
3. Act 2 – being tricked again, all together
4. Act 3 – go to Hollywood, celebrity’s house
5. coda… unity…
Todorova Narrative structure
Horror – comedy
1. Intro
A young boy is faced with being alone in the middle of a zombie apocalypses,
fending from himself. While doing this he follows certain rules which he believes are
necessary to survive and follows these rules religiously. While traveling to his next
destination, he comes across another person where a brief standoff happens - while
they are both on edge until he convinces, this new person (Tallahassee),for them to
travel together until the next destination. They then arrive at a big convenient store
as Tallahassee wants a Twinkie which becomes key focus for him throughout the rest
of the movie.
2. Act 1
when they arrive at the store they kill a few zombies but they key focus of the scene,
is when they meet two girls who appear to be in trouble, who are called ‘little rock’
and ‘Wichita’ who make it appear Asif her little sister little rock has been bitten,
presenting them as two venerable girls, while they turn it around and hold them to
gun point and steal everything they have including their car, and weapons leaving
them now unprotected and venerable.
3. Act 2
They finally find another car to begin their travels again and forced to work together
to survive, and make their way on their travels again, until they reach their old car
which was stolen looking like if has run out of petrol, they step out to find the two
girls again who are planning to steal their car again, confutation happens again, and
they all end up together in the car on their travels again. Little rock and Wichita talk
about wanted to go to ‘pacific play land’, and head to LA. All characters focus is to
find a something which comforts them which becomes their main focus though out
the film, while they have that, Columbus has a sense family and unity to find and
Tallahassee, just wants a Twinkie.
4. Act 3
When they arrive to Hollywood they are still amazed to be their which shows they
are finding a sense of happiness within all this. They head though the main strip pick
up a celebrity house map, from the side walk and head to ‘Bill Murrays’ house. They
2. break in and plan to stay there for the night, until half the group find the real him,
unbitten and human. While he welcomes them to his home and welcomes them be
goes to find the others who kill him believing he is a zombie. This upsets half the
group and decide to settle down for the night where Columbus and Wichita share a
very intimate moment of reflecting back and forth to each other life, and you really
begin to see the more subtle side of her as she holds up a hard front, however this
scares her and she goes to bed. When they wake up they find both little rock and
Wichita leaving to head to pacific play land, as this is what they want to do to be
complete, while the other two are contemplating whether to follow them.
5. Columbus being in lust with Wichita follows them, and tries to create a big scene of
him leaving on a motor bike but falls of and him and Tallahassee ends up going to
pacific play land together. While they are doing this little rock and Wichita are in
trouble are they zombies heard the Nosie from it and started to follow it, until both
of them are stuck on a ride for safety. Columbus and Tallahassee save to two girls in
a dramatic scene and the film ends with him finally getting a Twinkie of little rock all
characters receive what they want.
Genre
Zombie land establishes its horror genre though the use of typical iconographies of a horror,
while it also incorporates its comedic genre, at the same time creating a new version of a
horror film. The typical zombie, blood guts and horror are present while mixing it with a
comedic sense of them not taking everything too seriously like most main stream zombie
movies.
Analysing the horror genre relating to the narrative conventions presented the
iconographies of a typical zombie horror, is clearly the zombies. However how they use
them to be successfully in the horror genre in creating tension and intensity within the
scene, with the use of the zombies, where they are not present In all shots, where they
would be thought to be creating a deep tension and fear within the audience which is a key
iconography of a zombie horror.
The subgenre of zombie land is comedy as it’s a comedy horror, the key iconographies of a
horror, is almost silly little things which are presented though the characters mannerisms,
an example of this is when Bill Murray, pretends to be a zombie is an intense moment and
end up getting killed due to his stupidity, while this would usually be a intense and sad
scene, due the humour being presented the scene is quite humorous and shows the very
comedic side of the film.
Purpose
Feature films purpose are initially made for money and profit, and from the success of a
feature film, national identify ones along, where you or company becomes more well know,
and from this comes more profit for the company. Carers of those involved become created
3. and expanded with national identity so their skills, and talents also become national, and
due to zombie land being successful the purpose was created.
Audience
Zombie Land has a main audience of horror genre fans, and maybe zombie horror fans as
well. While the audience of many horror films are generally stereotyped as male
As for psychographics, people who enjoy general success, and a build-up of things which
become as obstacle to the main protagonist, finally become solved and their main aimis
finally achieved which reflect a sense of relief on the audience.
Geodemographic, of zombie land would be mostly aimed towards people of the US, where
the film is directly from, and has certain things such as humour directed at them. For
example it’s a clear difference of English feature films humour to American.
Propp Narrative Structure
Propp, was a literary critic and a scholar who founded the idea that a certain type of
character was used in every narrative structure. Firstly the ‘hero’, ‘the villain’ ‘the donor’
‘The dispatcher’, ‘the false hero’ ‘the helper’, ‘the princess’, ‘her father’. He created this
from his analysis of the narrative to fairy tales. While reflecting to zombie land, who has
minimal cast, as its mainly made up of the four main characters and the rest who are
‘zombies’ who has no character description or focus. However, I would suggest that all
these properties found in these characters are found in the character to zombie land. For
example, the villain could be seen as ‘little rock’ and ‘Wichita’ who, opposes or activity
blocks a hero’s question, so you would link the fact they keep stopping Tallahassee and
Columbus getting to where they want to be is a villain antic. the help would be argued to be
Columbus who’s quite shy, and afraid while Tallassee would ideally be seen as they hero as
he takes charge in most situations.
