DYM: Opening Sequence Sound Analysis

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/dawn-of-the-dead/

I chose the opening sequence sound in Dawn of the Dead to analyse. One of the things that is interesting about this opening sequence is that it is very choppy in its approach to both sound and visuals. This automatically establishes it as a horror film, particularly as it firstly surprises and then secondly unnerves the audience, which therefore evokes fear of the unknown. The opening sequence begins with silence shortly followed by an obscure sound that is unfamiliar and not immediately recognizable. Blood red writing against a black background can also be seen and is drawn to by the silence.

Throughout the sequence, diagetic and non-diagetic sounds can be heard but in a muted form or merged one after the other to create unfamiliarity. This creates distance from the action and in turn leads to a feeling of helplessness for this ‘virus’ and the victims. The sounds tend to correspond to the clip being shown, in particular a repeated clip of the monster itself and the strange noise it is making.

For the first 40 seconds we also hear a snippet of a press conference in which someone is being questioned about this virus and the danger associated with it. The audience gets a sense of this danger through the repeated answer of ‘I don’t know’ which again creates a fear of the unknown. A straight answer is never given, to create unease. This is a voice over and is both non-diagetic and diagetic because the sounds we hear don’t always match the clip we see on the screen. This opening sequence is almost like a montage.

40 seconds in, ‘The Man Comes Around’ by Johnny Cash is added to the sequence as background music. This juxtaposes the visuals in many ways. What we see is clips from a panic-stricken city, frantic news reports and bloody monsters interrupted by static television. However, the song plays constant and is not frequently chopped or changed. The song is primarily about Jesus, which seems unfitting to what we see. This draws attention to the contrast and makes the shots seem even more disturbing. Despite not being a particularly happy song, it doesn’t strike the listener as particularly sad or creepy sounding, which also makes it an unlikely choice for a horror film. This means that the opening sequence doesn’t flow very smoothly and gives a sense of confusion to the audience, all of which clarifies it as a horror.