EggAndBean

Title: 28 Days Later
Directed by Danny Boyle
Release: 2001
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston

28 Days Later follows the story of Jim, a bike courier living in London, who at the start of the movie awakens from a coma in a deserted hospital. A distressing opening sequence to the movie has depicted the events over the last 28 days in Britain (specifically London), where a deadly virus has escaped from a medical laboratory, wreaking havoc on the population. This virus is loosely referred to as “rage” - people infected almost immediately succumb to its effects, with the symptoms manifesting themselves as extreme aggression towards humans.

Is it a zombie movie? The purists will say no - there are no lumbering Romero-esque zombies here, all the “infected” hurtle about at a swift pace. Aside from this, they do exhibit other tendencies that semi-qualify it for zombie-movie status; the infected will attack any non-infected human (regardless of any prior relationship), and they also seem to happily hunt in packs. So while it may not be a “true” zombie movie, it certainly leans that way.

The movie takes off at a rapid pace - a couple of minutes into the movie, we see Jim (our protagonist) wandering around a deserted London, unaware of the previous 28 days events. The population has either fled or been infected, leaving an eerie, empty London cityscape. It’s a little reminiscent of the scenes at the start of George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, and no doubt its paying at least a little homage to this. It’s not long before Jim encounters the infected, and only narrowly escapes due to the help of some survivors.

If you are hoping for a slow-burner zombie movie, this ain’t it, at least not to start with. The story progresses quickly, barely giving us a moment to catch up. Jim hooks up with a band of survivors who decide to try and make it to an Army base that is broadcasting from a remote location outside the city. Upon getting involved with the Army, the movie seems to finally slow, and, sadly, grind to a halt. I won’t get into specifics, but the last third of the movie requires a little patience to get through, though there is enough scares and lingering menace to just about keep you interested.

28 Days Later is a strong, original attempt to put a fresh twist on the zombie genre, and it very nearly pulls it off. A weak third act marrs an otherwise solid storyline, with great casting and decent production values. The decision to use digital camera’s was probably not the best idea - they go for gritty, but it can sometimes just come across as cheap. Great music accompanies the mayhem.

Rating: 3.5/5