Post-Apocalyptic Film Openings

INSPIRATION!

A film opening is your one chance to establish the tone and world of your film, hooking your audience in and keeping them watching the rest of the movie. To make sure I have some reference and background information before I make my own film opening, here are two film openings that I have taken inspiration from for my story!

A Quiet Place (2018)

This film, although primarily a horror film, has heavy post-apocalyptic genre tropes and conventions as the merging of the two genres occurs fairly often. The movie takes place in a world where there are monsters that hunt you by sound, because of this a huge amount of people have been wiped out from the planet. The first two minutes of the film gives the audience a lot of information, for starters, although the exact plot and antagonist of the film (the monsters) are not revealed, the audience can infer based off the title and the movement of the characters, that there is a need to be quiet. The film opens with shots establishing the type of world they live in, starting on a broken traffic light, no human life, run down business fronts, and empty stores with trash and leaves from the outside strewn across the floor. These first few shots within the first 20 seconds of the film work to quickly get the message across to the viewer, that this world is not like our own, something has happened, people are missing and resources are scarce. The opening further drives the concept of keeping quiet as the mother in the film, Evelyn, is seen looking at different medicine bottles for her child. She shakes as she picks up each bottle, as she is trying her hardest not to make noise. We are also granted a shot of the daughter, Regan, this shot allows the viewer to see that she has a cochlear implant, letting the viewer know she is deaf, a crucial point later in the film later. What I think this opening does great is not only does it pack a lot of information within just the first two minutes of film, but it also manages to stay true to genre conventions while creating its own story. The characters are alone, the shot of the numerous missing persons shows that people are gone, and the scenery is dirtied and run down. These are all crucial elements in creating the world and establishing the genre, but the twist of having the element of sound be so prevalent in the film, is what really keeps the interest of the audience.

I Am Legend (2007)

The film, "I am Legend" is a post-apocalyptic film that showcases the truest form of the genre. The film centers around the character Robert Neville and his search to find a cure for a man made plague that turns people into mutants. Not only does the film have all of the genre conventions I noted within my research, but the exhibition and composition of the opening itself is extremely well done. The film starts with clips of a news interview, that are utilized to set up the context and allow the viewer to connect the dots for themselves to infer what will occur in the film. After the exposition of background information from the news clips, the film transitions three years later into a derelict and run down city, that features overgrown vegetation and wild life. The main character of the film drives through the city, alone, other than his dog, and the film establishes this fact with the use of extreme long shots and aerial shots to show he truly is isolated. I am Legend is a great example of what comprises the post-apocalyptic genre and how it is portrayed.