DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979) image analysis

This scene from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1979) shows a zombie’s head being blown off. This highlights the fact that ‘DotD’ is much more of a gory/action horror than a psychological horror due to the explosive element within it. Explosions are much more related to action horrors, and the amount of ‘blood’ and ‘skull’ within this still image displays body horror making it a gory film. The motivated lighting from the lamp produces a gloomy atmosphere making the audience feel uncomfortable and on edge. The low key lighting generates a miserable and low-spirited feeling again making the audience feel uncomfortable but also it may create a sense of sympathy for the slow moving monsters. Tom Savini was considered to be one of the first pioneers  to conquer gore effects and was an early expert on ‘over the top’ body horror properties. He was hired by George A Romero to ‘think of as many ways of killing zombies’ as he could, and make it come to life on set.