Comparisons on opening sequences between 28 Days Later and American Werewolf

28 Days Later
The opening sequence of 28 days later is fast and action packed. The opening sequence involves animal activists breaking in to a monkey testing centre. This invokes fear and violence to the audience from the very beggining, common signifiers in a horror film. The lighting of the scene is dark and gloomy and the music is loud and fast paced. This allows the audience to experience the horror element of the film from the very beggining of the film. The scene of the opening sequence is what would come expected from a Horror Film with an empty dark laboratory with rabid monkeys.

American Werewolf
In comparrison to the film 28 days later, American Werewolf involves a very different and unorthodox opening for a Horror film. The opening scene involves a farm cart driving along vast amounts of green hills and dales with an upbeat love song as diagetic sound. In the opening you are introduced to the two main characters who are hikers from america who have hitch hiked in this cart to get to this vast amount of mountains. Although this does not follow the usual conventions of a horror film, there are signifiers such as isolation, empty space, foggyness and howling wind.