The opening scene of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 2007 film 28 Weeks later, starts with shaky unsettling footage where the visual is difficult to make out but the audio guides the viewer along the story as you hear the distressed screaming voices, panicked footsteps, doors slamming and the growls of zombies. As the character gets away to the boat, the footage remains unsettled and distressing to create discomfort and fear in the audience. 

Stork’s statement ‘It barely matters if you know what’s happening on screen’ is a clear example of chaos cinema within 28 Weeks Later, as the viewer must rely heavily on sounds and flash imagery. In particular, when he locks the door behind him, the audio saves this footage as it happens so quickly that the viewer could perhaps have missed it otherwise. The distressing musical score in the background also aids the viewer in the intensity of what’s happening in the scene. The music in the scene becomes heavy and fear-inducing as Don is running for his life leaving his friends and family behind, while a hoard of zombies approaches him rapidly. 

Shaviro’s concept of post-continuity is displayed in this sequence as he describes ‘a preoccupation with immediate effects trumps any concern for broader continuity—whether on the immediate shot-by-shot level or on that of the overall narrative’ (2016:51) This opening sequence is difficult to follow when inside the barn and hard to decipher what is happening at each stage when in the boat, however, the viewer can still follow the story. Shaviro’s concept of post-continuity is a contemporary approach to Stork’s chaos film theory as he explains, ‘Today, neither the use of continuity rules nor their violation is at the centre of the audience’s experience any longer.’ (2016:57) which allows filmmakers to be liberal and explorative with how they produce their films.

Chloé Bloom

References:

Shaviro, S. (2016). ‘Post-Continuity: An introduction’, Post-Cinema: Theorising 21^st Century Film.

Chaos Cinema Parts I and II, 2012 [Video Essay], Dir. Matthias Stork:

https://vimeo.com/metafilm

https://vimeo.com/28016704