Zombieland sequel in 3D – a small rant

With notable exceptions such as the Godfather trilogy, up until recently film series were known for their decreasing quality as each new instalment passed. Trying to capitalise on the “name” success of a brand, studios would try and quickly rush out a sequel whilst the original was still fresh in the minds of the cinema audience. A case in point would be the Planet Of The Apes series which, with each new film, saw the series regress from innovative special effects to rushed out hackery.

   It was not until Spielberg and Lucas, with the Indiana Jones and Star Wars series, did the idea occur of making sequels bigger, grander than their original films. The trend grew and grew until this decade when the box office has been dominated by franchise sequels – The Lord of the Rings, The Pirates of the Caribbean, the Harry Potter films, The Dark Knight, New Moon and many, many more.

   The only problem with the idea of a film trying to be a bigger spectacle than the one which preceded it neatly dovetails into the newest trend in cinema. As Hollywood is trying to combat piracy, the film industry is pushing 3D films down audience’s throats with saturation releases of this technology. Usually only appearing momentarily and clumsily in feature films, 3D effects are not yet advanced enough to warrant inclusion in the spates of features which dominate the box office. This movement is very similar to when sound was introduced to cinema – the small bursts of noise in film acted as a distraction until the technology advanced to the degree it could sustain a whole feature film. However, film marketing and advertising suggest that 3D, even in its undeveloped infancy, somehow provides a more grand, better film experience.

   With this in mind it is no wonder that sequels wanting to eclipse their franchise forefathers are beginning to be produced to incorporate 3D technology. No longer suffering the stigma of a Jaws sequel, successful features, not least amongst them the upcoming Toy Story movie, are taking their turn to announce they are embracing this technology.

   So, with depressing inevitability, it is no surprise that the potential Zombieland sequel has been announced, by slashfilm, as being a 3D feature. Whilst Sony have yet to announce production on the film, its director Ruben Fleischer has announced that they are indeed interested in such a project and, therefore, wishes to film a sequel using 3D; a technology “the genre lends itself to”. If indeed the film were to go ahead as planned it can only be assumed that the focus of the film will be on decapitated zombie heads flying out of the screen – the aesthetic equivalent of a musical sforzando stab. 3D, as it stands, acts not as an immersive device but instead, through creating a barrier between the cinema and its audience, one that provides a constant distraction. The short bursts of outward stabbing currently seen in 3D films constantly break the 4th wall, pushing viewers away from the events on the screen. Whilst the first Zombieland film was hardly the most cerebral of offerings, it would be a shame for a relatively unique film to give in to novelty and gimmickry and further infantilise cinema; shoe-horning effects into a franchise simply because it is possible to do so smacks of laziness. It would not be difficult to argue that no film created so far in cinematic history has, or would, benefit from adding an extra dimension. When 3D technology is advanced enough to warrant its inclusion for a whole film then I will have no qualms with its utilization but, for now, it is simply an ongoing experiment.

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