28 Days Later...

Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson

After director Danny Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald filmed an adaptation of Alex Garland's novel The Beach, Garland approached Macdonald about his concept for 28 Days Later. In an interview with Creative Screenwriting, Garland explained, "I said to him that I had an idea for a movie about running zombies. I wrote it and sent it to him and the two of us went backwards and forwards with it for a few drafts... At the point I was working on 28 Days Later I had a lot of zombie movies as well as video games like Resident Evil turning round in my head." Early influences on Garland included the George Romero films Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978), which he loved as a child, but he said he had largely forgotten about the zombie genre until he played the video game Resident Evil (1996), which reminded him how much he loved zombies after "having not really encountered zombies for quite a while".

A virus originally from chimpanzees has spread throughout the U.K. 28 days later, a man named Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital. He begins to walk around London looking for a single soul, only to find the place deserted. He ends up at a church, only to discover the humans that have contracted the virus, and have turned into rage-induced zombie-like monsters. Jim runs from the zombies and comes across other survivors, fighting for their life against the undead.

With 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle definitely re-invented the zombie genre. Gone are the days of "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), where there were slow moving zombies. In 28 Days Later, the zombies here are fast, which helps add to the dread and tension. The humans who are infected also turn rather quickly, like within seconds. Some moments in the film made me jump from how uncomfortable it was.

This is a very tense movie throughout. The cinematography in this film by Anthony Dod Mantle is fantastic. When the survivors are talking, or when the zombies (or infected) are running, the camera angle tilts to the side, which adds a claustrophobic effect to the film. Adding to that, the budget of the film is low, so the look of the film has a grainy-like texture, which makes it look like a documentary at times. Danny Boyle and his crew made a good looking film. The acting in the film is great as well, with a standout performance from Cillian Murphy as Jim. The pacing of the film slows in the second half, but still kept me interested. Overall, a great zombie film!


7.5/10