28 weeks later poster analysis

28 weeks later, 2007, is an American sci-fi, thriller and horror film that depicts the last 28 weeks of a zombie apocalypse.

When analysing the poster designed to promote the film, I have depicted the typical conventions on the poster and made interesting judgments and suggestions as to why the poster has been created using these specific methods to create this appearance.

When focusing on the main image, I feel that both of the protagonist characters are presented as innocent, caring people who are attempting to survive the zombie apocalypse. Baring in mind that surrounding the two characters are hundreds of dead bodies and silhouetted zombies, shown by their stance and appearance, I feel that the designer is attempting to prove how they are the “last” survivors and how the film is based around these central characters and their survival. By this, I feel that the female character is a "final girl" stereotype by her tomboy appearance as addition to the boy being a hero. By capturing the characters with a long shot, we are able to see their fearful facial expressions and acknowledge how they are presented as lonely, deserted and powerless in comparison to the many zombies. Another way in which this is presented is by the male and female being positioned on the ground, at a lower height than the zombies, showing the audience the contrast between the power roles between the zombies and ordinary people. Due to the protagonist characters being outlined with a white misty glow, I feel that this resembles how special they are to the world and how the characters are likely to survive.

 By the age of the characters, I would suggest that they are siblings and that the elder sister is being presented as the mother-like hero for her younger brother, shown by her protective body language. By virtue of the protagonist being female, I feel that this is going against the typical convention due to her acting like the stereotypical hero. Although she is the hero, she always portrays her weakness and fear of death through this shot. This image relates to the female victim character by proving her beauty though her wind-blown hair, showing how sexually appealing she is for male viewers and idealistic for females.

Due to the iconic buildings, the audience is given the information that the setting is based in London as addition to informing us that by virtue of the helicopters flying over their heads, the military forces are in action and attempting to kill the infected zombies.
The most powerful symbol shown on the poster denotes a bio-hazard chemical that is clearly portraying how the deadly virus began. The symbol shown has been cut in half and is shown to be going into the ground as oppose to keeping the whole symbol and covering the important image. To me, this shows the devastation and hopelessness of the characters by showing the hazardous symbol that looks as if it is coming out of the ground, which could be another representation of how zombies appear.  The effect on the symbol has been designed to appear destroyed and effected by the large scratches and worn down effect. The size of the symbol suggests its importance in the film and shows how effective it is and how harmful it is towards humans, which is also influenced by the characters fearful expressions. Although we are aware of the harmful substance, we do not get the full story by this image which leaves a question unanswered, persuading the viewer to watch the film and find out.

The setting of the scene is shown to be a dull, cloudy, dreary day. This is another convention that most horror posters include to set the mysterious, unsettling atmosphere. Night time is usually the time in which unwanted, scary people/ objects appear and so 28 weeks later presents the viewer with this unsettling scenery.

The credit block, placed at the bottom of the poster, includes all of the important information such as producers, actors, dates and studios for production values. All of this information shows the audience information that they wouldn’t have necessarily have gained from the poster and contributes to whether they will watch the film.

The tag line, written at the top of the page is one that persuades the audience to watch the film. “Week one: No trace. Week two: No warning. Week eight: No control. Week sixteen: No cure. Week twenty eight: No escape”. Working its way through the film, the audience get an idea of the storyline and simply by the blunt sentences, can visualise the intensity and faced paced action within the film. All of these words have been written in the same font as “28 weeks later” to create unity throughout the poster and to make the words easily read by the capital, sans serif font. The same grainy effect has been given to this font which also creates unity and connects to the zombie theme as addition to the colour white which connects to the white hazardous symbol. Although the tagline informs the viewer of the stages in the film, nothing important is given away. This means that the audience will want to know more about the film and will be convinced to watch it.

The simplicity of the poster is shown through the great use of imagery as oppose to tons of writing. I feel that this is due to the film being a franchise and the first film”28 days later” giving the viewers all of the information appropriate into understanding what the next film is about and whether they want to watch it.

Having analysed this specific movie poster, I would suggest that the target audience for the film is zombie film loving audiences who are predominantly males. If I were to suggest the age of the target audience for the film I would suggest that they would be aged between 16-30.