28 дней спустя imdb
28 дней спустя imdb
Animal rights activists release a chimpanzee being used for medical research at the Cambridge Primate Research Center, ignoring warnings that the chimp has been exposed to Rage, an incurable virus that instills a murderous frenzy into those infected. Twenty-eight days later, bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy), who was injured in a cycling accident prior to the release of the virus, awakens from a coma in an abandoned hospital in London to find that the city has been deserted and that he is being pursued by «infecteds» who want to kill him. Jim manages to find more survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris), Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and Frank’s teenage daughter Hannah (Megan Burns), and the four of them attempt to make their way up to Manchester where they hope to find sanctuary among a military encampment.
The film is based on a screenplay written by English novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland. A sequel, 28 Weeks Later (2007) followed in 2007.
Based on the traditional definition of a zombie (a reanimated corpse), no. However, the idea of what constitutes a zombie has changed over the years through various forms of entertainment, including movies, TV shows, comic books, video games and more, and the definition is hotly debated among zombie fans. Director Danny Boyle and scriptwriter Alex Garland both feel that the movie does depict zombies, but in a unique way not before seen; according to Boyle, «I feel there was respect for the genre, but I hope that we freshened it up in some way» (production notes, archived here). With this in mind, «The Infected» are neither the traditional «zonbi» of Haitian folklore, the living-dead of old Hollywood monster movies, nor the Romero-styled re-animated corpses that feed on uninfected flesh. But they are mindless drones who act in numbers, rather than individually. They do not eat, speak, rationalize, form new ideas or even determine how they will make their next move, instead acting purely on base instincts, and in this sense, they act very much like traditional zombies.
The film is somewhat ambiguous as to its sub-genre, leaving it to the viewer to make the final classificatory decision. The film could easily be included in traditional genres such as survival horror, horror drama, zombie, virus, and post-apocalyptic.
The movie does not say. However, the graphic novel 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, which begins prior to 28 Days Later, as well as bridging the timespan between the events of 28 Days Later, and 28 Weeks Later, offers more details about the origins of the Rage virus. Two London scientists attempting to develop an inhibitor to control aggressive impulses in humans, determined that the best way to distribute this inhibitor was via a contagion. One scientist genetically modified the Ebola virus to carry the inhibitor, but the virus mutated and reversed the inhibitor’s effects. As such, instead of working to suppress rage, it had the opposite effect, stimulating rage instead, and thus creating the Rage virus. After the scientists are forced to kill the first human test subject when he becomes out of control, they cover up the incident by burying his body in a field in the middle of the night. Subsequently, the two scientists have a furious argument and one quits. Later that night, he tips off the animal liberation group about the experiments, before shooting himself in the head. The other scientist becomes infected by a primate along with the members of the liberation group. An animated version of first chapter of 28 Days Later: The Aftermath is available on both the 28 Days Later limited edition DVD and the 28 Weeks Later DVD. The animation can also be watched here, and its IMDb record is here.
Whilst never clarified in the film itself, it has been explained in the graphic novel, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, that the infected target their victims through smell. Uninfected individuals smell of perfume, deodorants, soap, etc., while those that are infected would reek of perspiration and dirt. One could conclude that the virus would be counter-productive if an infected individual attacked another infected individual, ergo it has evolved to exclude that possibility. On a more practical level, one could argue that this facet of the Infected is based simply upon the tradition of the earlier zombie films that influenced 28 Days Later, insofar as in such films, zombies are never seen to attack other zombies.
Yes and no. As Jim is wrestling with the boy, it can be clearly heard on the soundtrack that the boy shouts «I hate you!» several times before Jim kills him with his baseball bat. In the director/writer commentary on the DVD, Danny Boyle discusses how the origin of the infection was «rage», so the filmmakers decided to layer a lot of «violent» speaking onto the soundtrack for scenes involving the Infected. According to Boyle, however, for this particular scene, they made it a little bit too loud. So, we could interpret the utterance as the attacking Infected’s voice or as the film’s Chorus.
Although it appears that Frank and Hannah were surviving just fine, with Frank having found a way to protect them from the infected entering the tower, there was one factor that hampered their ability to survive in the building. lack of fresh water. When Jim is shaving his face he is cutting himself quite a bit, and Frank tells him that they can’t spare water for shaving. Also, when Frank takes Jim up to the roof of the building where he and Hannah have laid out hundreds of containers to catch rainwater, he tells Jim that rain has been very scarce since the outbreak.
The Tunnel would have most likely been sealed by the English and French government shortly before or after the Infection first became a pandemic, as sealing off the Tunnel would prevent the Infection spreading to mainland Europe. If not, there is the risk that, no matter how small their numbers, a few Infected could get into the Tunnel by chasing after fleeing trains and cars. They could then run towards France, and survive long enough to infect a maintenance worker or military personnel assigned to guard the Tunnel. If any of these mainland countries have outbreaks of the Infection that are not controlled, all of Europe, and eventually Asia and Africa, could likewise become threatened by the Infection. Consequently, it’s highly likely that the authorities-that-be sealed the Tunnel at the first indication of a pandemic infection.
The fighter jet pilot says, «Lähetätkö helikopterin?» (Finnish for «Could you send a helicopter?»), an indication that Jim, Selena and Hannah were seen this time.
Technically, there have been, at one time or another, 8 possible endings to the film, all of which are included, in way, shape or form, on the DVD.
1. «Jim Dreams and Dies»: The original scripted ending (which is not the ending that exists in the finished film) involved an extension of the hospital scene after Jim, Selena, and Hannah have escaped the mansion. In this version, the scenes of Selena working on Jim are much longer, and are intercut with a kind of impressionistic «flashback» to the accident which put Jim in hospital prior to the opening of the movie. After doing everything they can to save Jim’s life, Selena and Hannah eventually realize that he is gone, and they despondently leave the hospital together. This ending was shot and edited, and was the original planned ending for the film, but initial test audiences responded negatively, prompting director Danny Boyle to conclude that because the film was so bleak and had asked so much of the audience prior to the dénouement, to end it on such a low note was simply too harsh. Boyle was also worried because he felt the audience misinterpreted the final shot (Selena and Hannah walking out of the hospital, with the doors swinging closed behind them), and he didn’t like this level of ambiguity. Specifically, Boyle and scriptwriter Alex Garland had always intended the last shot to signify that Selena and Hannah were going to survive no matter what happened, but test audiences took it to imply they were heading off to certain death. This ending can be found on the DVD in the deleted scenes, under the title «Hospital Dream».
2. «Jim Dies»: The same as above, but without the flashback scenes. This was the ending found at the end of the credits on American prints of the movie and when it was played on Sky Movies in the UK.
3. «Rescue Coda»: The theatrical ending with Jim surviving the gunshot wound and he, Selena and Hannah hiding out in the mountain district until they are found and rescued. This is the version with which the theatrical release and the DVD release end.
4. «Rescue Coda without Jim»: A combination of the «Jim Dies» ending and the «Rescue Coda» ending. Jim dies in the hospital, but rather than the film end with Selena and Hannah leaving, it cuts to the cottage and the rescue scene simply plays out without Jim. This can be found on the DVD in the Alternate Endings under the title «Alternate Ending».
5. «Escape Ending»: During shooting of the film, for a period of time, Boyle planned to end the movie with the shot of the car driving away from the mansion after Mailer (Marvin Campbell) has dragged Major West through the back window. This was because the production had run out of money, and simply couldn’t afford to shoot anything else (the film was shot almost entirely in sequence). After the Fox executives saw the movie with this ending however, they agreed to provide more money to shoot both the «Jim Dies» endings and the «Rescue Coda» endings.
6. «Freeze-Frame Ending»: Boyle briefly toyed with ending the movie on the freeze-frame as the taxi slams through the gates of the mansion. Fox didn’t like that ending, so they gave Boyle extra money to shot the ending in the Lake District.
7. «Radical Alternative Ending»: This ending was never shot, but it was storyboarded. See here for details. It can be found as a series of animated storyboards in the Alternate Endings on the DVD narrated by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.
8. «Alternate Theatrical Ending»: This version is similar to the «Jim Dreams and Dies» ending, but with some minor differences; before they drive through the gate, as Jim is lying on the backseat of the car, he tells Selena that he saw a plane through the trees, thus giving her hope for the future. This ending is included on the Blu-ray disc.
. Jim walks around deserted London: East Hastings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
. Jim enters the church and find the corpses: The Church by John Murphy.
. Jim, Selena and Mark make their way to Jim’s parents’ house: Abide With Me, written by Henry F. Lyte and William H. Monk. The version heard in the film is sung by Perri Alleyne and arranged by the movie’s composer, John Murphy.
. Jim and Selena are chased by the Infected in the Tower Block: Tower Block by John Murphy.
. Jim, Selena, Frank and Hannah leave the flat: Taxi (Ave Maria), composed by Charles Gounod. The version heard in the film is sung by Perri Alleyne and arranged by John Murphy.
. Jim, Selena, Frank and Hannah is chased by the Infected in the tunnel: The Tunnel by John Murphy.
. in the shopping scene: AM 180 by Grandaddy.
. Jim, Selena, Frank and Hannah approach the roadblock outside Manchester: In Paradisium, composed by John Murphy. If it sounds familiar, it could be because you heard it in the opening scene of The Thin Red Line (1998) (1998).
. Jim sees the plane on the sky: Then There Were Two by John Murphy.
Unless otherwise stated, all music by John Murphy.
The original R2 UK DVD released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (UK) in 2003, the R1 US DVD released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2003, and the 2-Disc UK Limited Edition DVD released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (UK) in 2007 all contain the following special features:
• A feature length audio commentary with director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland.
• Six deleted scenes, with optional audio commentary by director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (see below for more information on these scenes).
• An alternate ending with optional audio commentary by director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (see above for more information on this scene).
• A radical alternate ending (in storyboard form) with audio commentary by director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (see above for more information on this scene).
• An 18-minute collection of production stills with audio commentary by director Danny Boyle.
• A 4-minute collection of publicity polaroids with audio commentary by director Danny Boyle.
• The UK Theatrical Teaser Trailer and the UK Theatrical Trailer
• Animated storyboards from the film’s original website (1 minute)
• A 6-minute collection of clips from the film scored to the music of Jacknife Lee.
• The 2-Disc UK Limited Edition DVD also contains the following additional special features:
• 1 minute of raw and behind-the-scenes footage from the making of 28 Weeks Later (2007), introduced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
• 28 Days Later: The Aftermath (Chapter 1) (2007); a 7-minute animated version of the first chapter from the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath comic book
• The UK theatrical trailer and the US theatrical trailer for 28 Weeks Later
Also included with the limited edition DVD is a 4-page booklet with production notes, and a copy of Chapter 1 from 28 Days Later: The Aftermath.
There are 6 deleted scenes on both the single disc and the 2-Disc Limited Edition DVDs:
1. «London Walk»: A minute of additional footage of Jim walking around the abandoned London streets.
2. «Abandoned Train»: As Jim, Selena and Mark (Noah Huntley) are walking along the Docklands Railway, they find a «hospital train», which they proceed to investigate. Inside, Jim finds a mobile phone but there is no signal.
3. «Motorway Carnage»: As Jim, Selena, Hannah and Frank are trying to get out of London, just prior to their entry into the tunnel, there is a scene of a flyover with smashed vehicles everywhere, some hanging over the edge and the abandoned city in the background. This scene appears untreated on the DVD as the filmmakers never added the CGI effects to remove the moving traffic.
4. «Taxi/Sweden»: On the drive up to Manchester, Jim, Selena and Hannah all take turns driving the cab and acting out the character of a talkative taxi driver. The scene was cut as it was felt the characters had bonded enough and the shot didn’t really work. Alex Garland also hated the scene and was embarrassed he had written it.
5. «The Infected in the House»: There is an alternate take of Jones’ (Leo Bill) death, with the infected overrunning the mansion and killing him. This scene also has Major West shooting Clifton (Luke Mably) and expressing great remorse for doing so. We also see Mitchell (Ricci Harnett) and Selena, looking down into a basement swarming with Infected. The final shot is West bolting a door to prevent the infected getting to him and an infected woman trying to bite her way through the glass to reach him.
6. «Floorboards»: During the chase through the house, there is a scene of Jim hiding under the floorboards to avoid Mailer and Clifton.
Yes. Both the US edition, released in 2007, and the UK edition, released in 2008, are identical to the original DVD releases. Note that the film was also released in the UK in 2013 in a Limited Edition Steelbook version. This version has no additional special features.
Spoilers
The FAQ items below may give away important plot points.
User Reviews
Despite the clichés, this is a fairly effective and gripping thriller from TRAINSPOTTING’s Danny Boyle, an edgy film with enough ambiance and shocks to make it worthwhile. Although working on a noticeable low budget (the scene with the car driving past those superimposed air turbines is laughable), Boyle creates an authentic and gritty post-apocalyptic vision which follows through with the shocks in many places that Hollywood wouldn’t dare. The opening sequence, in which Cillian Murphy’s sole survivor aimlessly wanders through an evacuated London, is especially noteworthy and one of the eeriest moments in a film I’ve seen in a long time. Although we all know that Boyle achieved his aim by filming early and closing off areas of the city, it works perfectly and nicely sets up the following events which take place in darker, cheaper sets and locations. Shooting on digital video gives the film an added edge of gritty realism especially during the in-your-face zombie attacks.
I say zombie because this film is, by all accounts, a straightforward zombie film. The survivors may still be alive but any thought processes are dead and they still attack as ferociously as any of Romero’s creations. Boyle gives us some very dark and graphic violence in such attacks, full of sickening spraying blood and chopped limbs shown in quick disturbing flashes. For once the camera doesn’t cut away and we’re left feeling pretty queasy about it all. But things get worse before they get better, with a climax involving gouged eyes and even worse things happening. One of the problems that this film has is that its extremely bleak and heavy going (at least until the tacked-on ending) and thus may well be off-putting to many viewers who can’t stand the too-realistic narrative, which has no time for Hollywood sentimentality.
The acting ranges from the solid to the less than impressive, the latter in the case of Megan Burns as the young Hannah. Young child actors are always unwise decisions in adult-orientated films such as this and Burns doesn’t quite gel in her role as the unlucky youth. On the other hand, there are some nicely dependable supporting performances, including Naomie Harris as the self-sufficient ex-chemist now turned survivalist, who has brutal ways of dealing with the infected. Brendan Gleeson steals the film with his performance as the warm-hearted father but unfortunately he gets all too little screen time. I have mixed feelings about Cillian Murphy, the relative Irish newcomer who takes the lead. His performance is definitely spot on in places but not at all charismatic, therefore we are unable to identify with him throughout the movie and especially during the gruesome climax.
The latter half of the film turns into an open reworking of Romero’s classic DAY OF THE DEAD, complete with a chained-up zombie a la Bub and an isolated bunch of soldiers led by a madman – this time played by Christopher Eccleston, giving some gravitas to the proceedings. Although the playout is fairly predictable, there are plenty of scary things going on in the climatic thunderstorm, making for uncomfortable viewing and a fair few jump-in-your-seat shocks for nervous audience goers. As the film generally works as a whole (despite the abundance of ups and downs) I consider it to be a success, although as I mentioned before definitely not to everybody’s taste.
Without getting into a debate into what a zombie is, there’s a virus that’s been released that causes rage. A group of animal activists released chimpanzees in a rage experiment. 28 days later, Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a hospital. He finds an abandoned London. Also Brendan Gleeson stars as one of the survivors, and Christopher Eccleston as the military squad leader.
The team of director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland has given us an exciting, action packed, and eerily atmosphere horror movie. The abandoned cityscape is extremely well done and shocking. The infected run fast and shot in an energetic manic manner. It’s very scary to see them coming at the characters. This is all due to the great camera work and editing. After a couple of near misses following his breakouts Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, Boyle re-establishes himself as one of Britain’s best.
This horror movie is a great entertainment. The story seems to be based on the plot of «Omega Man» and parts of the trilogy of George Romero. Fans of these movies will not be disappointed. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): «Extermínio» («Extermination»)
I excitedly arrived at the preview for this looking forward to a tense British horror movie to make me jump with fear. I got pretty much what I wanted. The plot is simple and omits much detail but not to it’s disservice. Details as to what the virus is or what it was created in the first place (by putting monkeys in front of TV’s Clockwork Orange style?) but the detail is not important seconds into the film when we wake up with Jim. At this point his fear becomes ours and what is important to him is not the detail but the bigger picture of the infected and the chances of survival.
Humans are rioting like every day was Black Friday at Walmart. A group of do-gooders lets an infected chimp loose that has the «Rage» virus which causes people to go berserk and kill uninfected people only. The effect is immediate and the virus has wiped out New York from London in 28 days. Go figure.
Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma and needs a Pepsi product placement. He ends up with two other people as they travel to a military base which was not the paradise he expected. This is not a zombie movie per se, but an infected person film. They don’t take headshots to kill and I wonder why they haven’t raised the grocery stores.
Guide: F-word. Nudity (Cillian Murphy + infected people)
Well not really, but that’s not the point, I was trying to make. I just thought of the song, walk like an Egyptian and considering the pace of the zombies on hand here, I mixed it with that. i hope that was somehow clear enough, for everyone to understand! If not just ask/write me!
But back to the movie, that has two obvious Romero nods (the grocery store scene, a «special» zombie, which reminds fans of «Bub» («Day of the Dead») and more or less the complete third act, which also looks like a «Day of the Dead» nod). And maybe some more, but not that apparent. The horror scenes are good, especially the beginning with it’s images that might haunt you for a while (London, like you’ve never seen it).
After waking up from a coma, a man named Jim (Cillian Murphy) discovers that the entire city of London and maybe the world has been taken over by a virus that causes people to go into a rage. Now, he is left with only two things to do: find others like himself and learn to survive.
This film can be seen as a tightrope connecting «I Am Legend» (any version you want) and «The Walking Dead». Like the former, you have one man alone against a world of post-human monsters in an evacuated large city. He is looking for a cure, or at least a way to survive, and he finds a female companion to share the journey. The differences between the films are relatively minor in the context of the overall plot.
We are given this horrific vision by director Danny Boyle (best known at this point for «Trainspotting» before getting even bigger with «Slumdog Millionaire»), and he does a fine job. By saying this film takes elements from predecessors, it may sound like I am being condescending or trying to sell the film short. I am not. Boyle does a wonderful job of showing a desolate city, a man isolated in London (the last place he would expect to be alone) and people infected with the rage virus. Much of horror cinema is not so much being original (a very, very rare thing these days) but taking a well-trod archetype and making it your own.
The heart of the film is Brendan Gleeson, who plays Frank. It takes it from a horror or survival film to a story of the goodness of humanity. The saying that sometimes the worst brings out the best in people is exemplified in Frank. His good nature and altruism shine and have a positive effect on those around him.
Many consider this a «zombie» film, while others try to differentiate it from that group (Boyle himself has called it a zombie film). I think there is a distinct difference between a virus that affects the living and the walking dead (even when the walking dead are brought back by a virus). This is, really, just a tale of survival that could have been portrayed similarly as rabies or AIDS. This is another way the film is influential; hundreds of zombie films have come out over the past decade (most of which are terrible), but the rise of the «infection» film owes its genesis to «28 Days Later».
The only real complaint is the suspension of disbelief we have to have about Jim’s beginnings. Waking up from a coma that he was in for at least three weeks, he is able to run easily without muscle atrophy or fatigue. He also survived in a hospital where no one else did. And most amazing of all, he seems to have not urinated or defecated in the bed. But all horror and science fiction films require a little bit of magic, so I think we can mark this off as being in that category.
Danny Boyle has made a name for himself over the past twenty years with movies like «Trainspotting», «Slumdog Millionaire» and «127 Hours». But «28 Days Later» is also worth checking out. It’s not a zombie movie in the general sense. Rather it’s a look at what could happen to society if every person were allowed to unleash his/her deepest, darkest emotions. In this case, a rage-causing virus decimates the UK’s population, leaving only a few people alive. While there is a lot of gore, the emphasis remains on the characters. Probably the thing that makes the movie especially unique is what we eventually find out about the troops.
Boyle said that he took some inspiration from «Day of the Triffids». Watching the movie I could see the similarity. I also got the feeling that «Contagion» and «World War Z» took some inspiration from this movie. Most importantly, this is one movie that you have to see. I have a feeling that if a virus wiped out most of the population leaving only a few people, those few people would REALLY have to hustle to figure out how to survive.
While this film didn’t exactly reinvent the zombie horror genre, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland nonetheless still manage to bring a feeling of jarring intimacy and immediacy to the standard premise by wisely focusing on a small handful of survivors who try to stay alive and retain residual traces of their humanity in an extremely dire and desperate situation. Indeed, Boyle and Garland handle the premise with admirable take-no-prisoners grim seriousness by showing in stark and chilling terms how easily people can degenerate into a horrible barbaric state in the wake of civilization collapsing. In an inspired cynical touch, a group of soldiers turn out to be anything but heroic and helpful as they prove to be more concerned with their own self-preservation over helping others out.
Cillian Murphy makes for an engaging average guy protagonist as the fundamentally decent Jim, Noamie Harris provides plenty of spark as the sassy and ruthlessly determined Selena, Brandon Gleeson does typically fine work as affable cab driver Frank, and Christopher Eccleston likewise excels as the steely Major Henry West. A tense sequence in a tunnel rates as a definite harrowing highlight while the shots of a dead quiet and empty London are quite eerie and striking. Anthony Dod Mantle’s rough digital cinematography gives this picture a gritty sense of documentary-style realism. But it’s the way this film manages to keep things on a basic human level which in turn makes the horror presented herein so potent and unsettling.
Twenty-eight days after a powerful virus known as ‘rage’ escapes from an animal experimentation lab, injured cycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes from a coma to discover that, while he has been asleep, the country has been overwhelmed by the infected, who are crazed, bloodthirsty, and surprisingly fleet of foot.
Although I’m not the biggest fan of Danny Boyle’s oeuvre as a whole, I do love me a good zombie film, and 28 Days Later is one of the finest examples that the genre has to offer (OK, I know that they are not technically zombies, but as poet James Whitcomb Riley once wrote, «when I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck).
Not only does the film offer intense horror by the bucket-load, but it also manages to deliver heart-rending pathos, dark comedy and nail-biting action, thanks to a raft of central characters you actually give a damn about, a gripping script from Alex Garland that wisely keeps matters within the realms of believability, and Boyle’s stylish direction that combines stunning cinematography (considering the digital format on which it was shot) with frantic, hand-held footage of the type that often sends me into fits of rage myself, but which works brilliantly in this instance. Also adding immensely to the overall atmosphere is the excellent original music by John Murphy, which works particularly well in the early scene in which Jim wanders the deserted streets of London, the score building to a crescendo as he gradually comes to understand his predicament.
I know it’s highly unlikely, now that Boyle has snagged himself Academy Award for Best Director, but I reckon the guy should tackle more horror (but NOT sci-fi/horror: Sunshine sucked!).
«28 Days Later» opens with views of rioting and other violence all over the world, then the camera gradually pulls back to show us a Chimp, strapped down, being shown these images at a Primate Research center via multiple monitors. Activists break in to free the Chimps, ignoring a warning that they are infected with a new «rage» virus that spreads very quickly and those infected are in a constant «rage» and, quite miraculously, only attack those who do NOT have the virus. So, this movie is about what could happen if, through carelessness, humankind unleashed a devastating virus that would threaten to destroy all of civilization. I quite enjoyed this movie, it isn’t perfect by any stretch, but held my interest to the closing credits, and beyond, with some interesting «extras» on the DVD.
SPOILERS FOLLOW. The main story starts «28 days later», we see Jim naked in a hospital bed, no one else around. He strips off the tubes, grabs some scrubs, and takes a stroll into London. All the familiar landmarks, not a person or moving vehicle in sight. The only sounds we hear are the fluttering wings of pigeons. Newspaper headlines tell of the virus and the exodus of British from their island. However the news stops after reporting that large cities like New York and Paris are infected, so the virus may have spread all over the world. For anyone not yet infected, «Staying alive is as good as it gets», says Selena.
Jim gets away from some «infected» he encounters, and ends up with Selena, plus Frank and his 14 year old daughter, Hannah. They have a self-powered radio, randomly scan and hear a broadcast message telling of a safe place and possible cure northeast of Manchester. The next third of the movie is a road trip, as they find a taxi and supplies from a grocery store and head north, on deserted main highways. They approach Manchester and see the whole city in flames and smoke. Frank gets infected when, looking up in a barn, has a drop of fluid from a dead body drop into his eye. Almost immediately in a rage, we hear gunshots, see the soldiers, the three survivors are taken to the compound.
They think they are safe, but Jim learns from the commander of the nine men, «I promised them women», there really was no cure, the message was just to try to get women. Jim reacts by trying to run away with Selena and Hannah, but is subdued and taken out by two rogues to be shot. He escapes, looks up to see commercial jet contrails, knows there is hope, eventually gets the best of all of the others, he and the two women escape in the taxi. They end up in a country farmhouse, Selena sews sheets and other fabrics together to make a very large ‘H E L L O’ which is seen by a jet fighter flying low, and we suspect they will join other survivors and begin to re-populate the world.
«28 Days Later» does deviate somewhat from the stereotypical zombie movie genre. And whether or not that is a good thing or a bad thing is, of course, a matter of personal preference. I did, however, find it to be a refreshing approach to the genre. I liked some parts of the movie, and I disliked others.
Director Danny Boyle took a bold approach to the genre when he came up with this zombie movie or viral infection movie, call it what you will. And it was an approach that resulted in a fairly entertaining movie, which did bring some new and interesting things to the genre.
What works in favor of «28 Days Later» is the storyline and the way that director Danny Boyle told the story. It is a fast paced story that is driven by a solid story, good characters and equally good acting performances.
However, I am not personally a big fan of having fast, agile and running zombies. But since these aren’t zombies as such, then I guess as an infected person it is alright. But for the genre, then I would classify them as zombies, and as such running is a no go.
I mentioned that the storyline is good, and it is the heart of the story, and the writers did put together a good story which is thrilling and entertaining. It was a thrill ride to follow Jim (played by Cillian Murphy) from waking up in the hospital and throughout the movie right up to the end.
The effects in «28 Days Later» are quite good, and that is something which also helps the movie quite a lot. You can’t really have a zombie movie, infected people movie, or whatever this was, and not have proper effects. So thumbs up to the special effects team for their work on «28 Days Later».
Usually I am not one who pays much attention to music in a movie, unless it is awfully bad and overshadows everything else. But the music they opted for in this movie was actually good and did help to supplement the movie quite well.
If you enjoy zombie movies and want something fast paced that deviates from the stereotypical how-to-make-a-zombie-movie recipe, then give «28 Days» a chance.
The key to keeping the sci-fi horror genre alive in the cinemas, as of late, is to make sure the material and techniques the filmmakers present is at least competent, at it’s average creative, and at it’s best something that we haven’t seen before or haven’t seen in such a style or form. George A. Romero did that back in prime 60s and 70s era of film-making, bringing forth one of the most memorable trilogies of all time for the genre. While many consider Romero to be on any given list one of the greatest horror directors (I included), it is important to know that he too had his sources for his little independent film in 1968, and after that was when he really got inventive, resulting in a masterpiece and a lackluster. Director Danny Boyle and author Alex Garland know that if they were to cook up a yarn all too similar to Romero it wouldn’t be satisfying. So, they’ve done what is essential to the success of 28 Days Later- they take ideas that have been in practice for many years, turn them fresh, and as the audience we feel repelled, excited, terrified, nauseous (perhaps), and enthralled, but we won’t leave feeling like we’ve seen complete hack work.
What does Boyle and his team set out to do to freshen up the zombie string? By making not in precise terms a «zombie» movie- you never hear «living-dead» uttered in this film, although you do hear «infected» and a new word for what these people have, «rage». Indeed, this is what the infected have in Britain, when a monkey virus gets let loose on the Island, and from the beginning of the infectious spread the film cuts to a man, Jim, lying in a hospital bed, who wanders abandoned streets and views torn fragments of society in front of him. That Boyle implements atmosphere as heavily as he does with the action/chase scenes gives an indication of his dedication to the detail. Jim soon finds a few other survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris) and a father and his daughter (Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns) who hear of salvation on a radio and decide to brave it out to find it. When they do, it’s a military outpost that’s without any true salvation, outside of the various military typos.
Like in Boyle and producer Andrew MacDonald’s spellbinding (if that’s the proper terminology) adaptation of Trainspotting, the craft is on par (or arguably topping) with the story and characters, and thus it has to captivate us all the more so to care about the plight of Jim and his companions. The photography by Anthony Dod Mantle is striking, not the least of which since it was done on digital photography (like in Blair Witch, the use of non-professional camera equipment adds the proper shading when needed), but also many of the shot compositions are different for such a film. The editing by Chris Gill goes quicker than expected in the attack scenes, going so fast between the infected throwing up blood, the screaming on-looker; the new infected transforming within seconds, and then the results that follow. Mark Tildesley’s production design, as well as John Murphy’s music, evokes haunting, evocative moods even in the more mundane scenes. And the acting, considering not many of the actors are well-known, is more than believable for such a script.
I’m not sure if 28 Days Later will be everyone’s cup of tea. Some of the horror and science fiction fans out there will immediately hear of this film, see a preview or a TV ad, or even see it, and dismiss it as phooey rubble borrowed from the video-store. I can see their points of view, since I saw many similarities in Romero and some other films (the military scenes reminded me of Day of the Dead, though the chained up Zombie in this was done for more practical reasons, and the supermarket scene is a little unneeded considering the satirical reverence it had in Dawn of the Dead). But what they should understand is that Boyle isn’t making a 100% original film, and no one could at this point of the genre’s history. He has done, however, the most credible job he could in getting a different tone, a different setting in country, and of a different, enveloping view of the scene structures. Overall, 28 Days Later is constructed and executed like most sci-fi horror films you’ve ever seen, and like not many other sci-fi horror films you’ve ever seen combined, in a sense, for a modern audience: fascinating throughout.
In the prologue, a team of animal rights protesters enter a laboratory to free some caged chimpanzees, which seem to be the subject of unfortunate experiments. At first, the cute creatures are caged animals yearning to be free. But we quickly see the chimps are diseased with «Rage!» They bite the hand that frees them. Apocalypse ensues «28 Days Later » our protagonist Cillian Murphy (as Jim) awakes completely naked in a hospital bed. Maybe Mr. Murphy was getting ready for a bath. He gets dressed and director Danny Boyle’s cameras follow him through a ravaged and deserted London. Murphy first meets a crazy priest. But his more important encounter is with super-bad Naomie Harris (as Selena). She’s very cool.
The home video sleeve exclaims, «Hailed as the most frightening film since ‘The Exorcist’, acclaimed director Danny Boyle’s groundbreaking (changed to ‘visionary’ for re-releases) take on zombie horror ‘isn’t just scary. it’s absolutely terrifying’ (Access Hollywood).» This is a good movie, but it’s certainly not up to the lofty reviews being referenced. In fact, this has all been done before, and several times better. Perhaps most noteworthy is the comparison of cannibalistic zombies with a group of men found to be infected with lust for women, during a long period without female companionship. Probably, the film is drawing parallels. There could also be some political observation being made in the opening trigger, or not
****** 28 Days Later. (11/1/02) Danny Boyle
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston
I expect I will stick with Danny Boyle no matter what, because «Sunshine» has changed me. I like what he does, circumnavigating zones of cinematic expression. He does it in the jumps from project to project, seemingly exploring both the depth at the center of each lake and its bounds.
But he does it within each project as well, working the overlay among what we seem to need to keep straight as separate genres. I’m not sure I really understand much about the necessity of genres. Surely they are a narrative necessity: a film only lasts a short while and you have to insert yourself into it quickly, filling in all sorts of context along the way based on established assumptions. But there’s also the familiarity of stories that goes beyond film, indeed beyond all art and forms the basis of action in life. Art merely acknowledges these stories and is allowed to play with them a bit. Not too much, mind you, which is why combining and overlaying stories is so effective.
And that’s what Boyle seems to understand so well. Its more than just being capable cinematically. He seems to find cinematic means in the overlap of these genre inspired strokes. In this case, its literally three genre-strokes in three acts. It isn’t life-changing, but it is a bit exciting seeing how he can shift us from thrill to adventure to revenge to romance without too many bumps. Well, maybe that last one was a bit rough.
But he takes chances. And he enlists his actors in them, so there is an overlap as well among himself, his actors and their characters.
There was only one annoying thing here. When a character knows he is being stalked, and the stalker passes quickly in front of the camera so we know he is there but the character does not, there’s this swoosh that first appeared in slasher films and is just lazy.
(The shopping scene references «They Might Be Giants.»)
28 Days Later is directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson and Christopher Ecclestone. Music is by John Murphy and cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle.
When animal liberation activists break into the Cambridge Primate Research Center, they come across a scientist who tells them that to release these chimps would be insane. They have been injected with a test serum known as «Rage», and it’s highly contagious and spreads easily and quickly. Ignoring the warnings, one of the activists opens a cage and is attacked and bitten by a chimp and rage quickly spreads among the group.
The amazing thing with Danny Boyles’s 28 Days later is that although it owes a huge debt to the likes of George Romero’s zombie films, and John Wyndham and Richard Matheson’s writings, it still feels fresh and exciting. Film is quintessentially British, as evidenced by the rightly lauded use of a depopulated London for the starting point to the terror, yet there’s an earthiness to our small band of survivors. These are flawed characters that are ill equipped to deal with the infected implosion, there’s nothing remotely Hollywood about these people or the landscapes that frame them (CG is minimal, where hand-held digital cameras are the order of the day).
A great cast and premise get down and dirty In a sharply executed infected based horror. 8.5/10