Horror Trailer; 28 Days Later (2002)

Director; Danny Boyle

Screenplay; Alex Garland

Soundtrack/Score; John Murphy

28 days later is a British horror film directed by highly acclaimed film director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionare, Trainspotting, The Beach) highly focusing on building tension through eerie atmospheric depictions of the deserted London streets. They even managed to get the bustling Picaddily Circus closed for the filming which makes it one of horrors most rememberable scenes (in my opinion). The trailer itself combines audio and visual material almost perfectly grabbing the attention of the viewer who is very likely to want to see this film. As far as narrative is concerned there is not a completely clear sense from the trailer, instead what is created is a transition of moods, from complete isolation to widespread panic, strongly through the use of the diagetic sounds of screaming and sentences from the main protagonist drowned in fear and worry.

The mise-en-scene provides a lot to talk about, much thanks to the surreal site of deserted London streets filled with scraps of paper, abandoned cars even overturned buses. The bright red of the London bus is a signifier in itself as red is a colour with lots of connotations linking to blood, fear, pain, hatred and anger amongst other things. The red flashes continue throughout the trailer whilst the rest of the colour used in the trailer is dark and desaturated slightly, utilising low key lighting throughout. Darkness is played with throughout the trailer helping to create the sense of isolation and fear; something which Danny Boyle seems to have perfected in his directing jobs.

The score from this film is outstanding, especially in the opening scene where the main protagonist walks through the deserted London streets alone, confused and scared. This build up of fear is reflected in the song that is used, which is 'In the House, In a Hearbeat' by John Murphy. An almost minimalist song using repetive melodic progressions almost completely covered in reverb. The song starts quietly with a very sparse texture but towards the end erupts into a roar of distorted guitars, drums and orchestral instruments. Personally, i like the diversion from the typical Hollywood film score which uses almost entirely orchestral instruments, taking a different route from that of Hans Zimmer or Johnny Williams. The idea of using a stereotypical 'band' set-up of guitar, bass and drums works brilliant for this UK film, reflecting UK music in general.

I would like to recreate the sense of isolation conveyed by the film in my own horror trailer although i believe that there could be a greated sense of mystery surrounding the narrative as it is almost completely given away by this version of the trailer. Another trailer i've found does not give away much of the plot at all, and is based on the '28 days' storyline of the film but does not give away the significance of that period of time. (Below)

This is the opening song which creates atmosphere and builds tension throughout the walk through deserted London.