Arnold
Cibbuano28 Days Later
August 16th 2006 06:25
'28 Days Later' was a somewhat updated comeback for the 'zombie' flick. It seems that the horror genre is going through a huge resurgence of popularity and life at the moment, and less teen-focused 'horror' films couldn't have really come at a moment too soon. As an added bonus, '28 Days Later' is directed by one Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, *cough*thebeach*cough*) and features a bigger budget than the subject matter usually gets.
The basic premise of the film is that a deadly blood-crazing virus has swept over all of Britain, leaving the country completely desolute and it's population severly diminished. Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma 28 days after the release of the virus and finds (in some amazingly unnerving scenes) that London is empty and abandoned, he soon falls in with some other survivors, but not before encountering the 'infected' (the film's updated version of zombies).
First of all, the infected are a brilliant recreation of a staple horror monster... instead of lumbering, moaning white-faced ghouls we get frenzied, screaming blood-faced madmen - a big part of the film's strength. Also, where the film succeeds is it's portrayal of armageddon - barren garbage-strewn streets overshadowed by British landmarks and a church filled with bodies make for some brilliantly cinematic high-concept horror. As the film progresses one threat merges into another, and a less physical form of social decay menaces the protagonists - boosting the viewer's sense of desperation tenfold; is there nowhere to run to?
It's by no means a perfect movie though, the ending stretches belief a little and characters are (a little too) conveniently done away with whenever the script-writer needs them to disappear. The setup involving animal-rights liberationists is interesting in terms of what it implies about leftist politics, but is completely abandoned when the real story starts - which begs the question, why bother? These are all slight quibbles though, they didn't really affect my enjoyment of the film in the slightest, which is what matters in the end.
The use of handheld low-fi camera work annoyed me at first, especially in the wide shots of empty London (as they would've looked great in a clearer grade of film), but I soon got used to the style, and I understand it's importance to the world it helps create - bringing across a gritty and realistic picture that helps build the film's brilliantly desperate and distressing atmosphere. It's scary in it's combination of a readily-identifiable (and more personal) environment with a easily imaginable end-of-the-world. I liked this a lot, and I hope to see more genre films, especially non-American ones, of it's calibre.
TRIVIA: Apparently there's an alternative ending that test-audiences reacted badly to.
SEE ALSO: 'The Survivors'... a 1970s UK-made television series, eerily foreshadows this film. Not only did 'The Survivors' feature people trying to find a new life in an empty post-apocalyptic Britain, but the reason for the desolation was also a devastating virus, and - like '28 Days Later - the series also explored the darkness of an un-governed society to boot!
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The film reminded me a lot of The Omega Man and david Cronenberg's Rabid and Shivers. So it had a seen it all before kind of effect on me and that ending just pissed me off.
I loved Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave, but the rest I can do without.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
I wouldn't mind seeing his new one, Millions.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Boyle's next, Sunshine might be ok, it's a sci fi written by Alex Garland novel. Due to be released in 2007.