28 Days Later
It is safe to say that of all the “supernatural” disaster that could take over the world, realistically it is the zombie apocalypse. So much so that already people have started prepping for the rise of the undead; reading up on survival guides and collecting whatever weaponry they can legally get their hands on. Steering clear of infectious diseases or particularly bitey people, it is important to be ahead of the curve because the more zombie movies come out, the more it feels that any day now, zombies are going to take over the world. And nothing instilled that fright more so than Danny Boyle’s epic 28 Days Later which even inspired my friend to start her own zombie survival kit…
28 Days Later and a chimp has ravaged an animal rights activist causing an outbreak of a disease called “Rage.” Four weeks later (that’s 28 days) and Jim awakes from a coma in an abandoned hospital. Finding that there is no one around and the whole place has been ravaged, Jim stumbles scared and alone through a desolate London. That is until he walks past a bunch of infected people aka zombies. Sensing blood and brains, they give chase and Jim soon finds himself in a battle for his life alongside the few survives that populate the United Kingdom in this post apocalyptic nightmare.
28 Days Later added a brilliant level to the already worn out zombie apocalypse movie; energy. Instead of slow and plodding zombies that really shouldn’t be able to kill an able bodied humans, the “Rage” virus causes the undead to speed up to terrific and terrifying levels. This game changing advantage the running corpses have makes the zombie threat even more frightening because you now have to outrun creatures that pretty much don’t get tired. It is a bloody scary movie with moments that cause you to shriek behind your hands and clench. Danny Boyle also filmed some scenes on a hand held camera which causes a disorientated reality, capping off the all out fear that 28 Days Later has.
What’s more is that Boyle, the director who is pretty much everywhere at the moment, is a mastermind. In most of his movies, he finds a balance between some brutal and gritty moments and stunning and sweeping scenes. Boyle can interject drama with comedy, politics with horror and gore with artistic glee. These detailed brushstrokes that Boyle paints lifts his film up. 28 Day Later is no exception, he implements so many elements and juggles them perfectly with intense scares and impending doom.
As zombie movies go, this is at the top. It has everything you could ask including a killer sound track with the best movie song ever (In The House, In A Heart Beat – John Murphy.) With strong performances from Cillian Murphy and Naomi Harris, 28 Days Later is lifted from the clichéd and becomes an incredible movie. Brilliant, engaging, this is a must see if you are ever going to survive a zombie apocalypse.
TTFN
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