28 Days Later
Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston.
Written by Alex Garland.
Directed by Danny Boyle.
Genre: Action / Horror
Released: 2002
Running time: 113 min.
Rated: R (American rating for strong violence and gore, language and nudity).
IMDb link: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/
I've
never been much of a horror fan myself, but every now and then I'll
catch a film from the goriest of genres that really grabs my attention
and earns a special place in my (still beating) heart. I knew very
little about 28 Days Later when I went to see it. I knew it was
directed by Danny Boyle, the man behind one of my favourite films,
Trainspotting. I also knew it was a quasi-zombie film, and that the
image being used to promote the film was of Cillian Murphy, dressed in
hospital gown, standing alone in the middle of London, not a single
other person to be seen. So when I sat down to watch the film, I had a
fair idea of what to expectbut all that got blown away pretty quickly.
28
Days Later tells the story of Jim (Murphy) who wakes up in a hospital
bed after having been hit by a car while he was working as a bicycle
messenger. Getting up, he investigates the hospital to find that theres
not a single person there. No one. Hungry, he smashes open a vending
machine and steals some food, before wandering outside into the streets
of London, where once again, he finds no one. The city echoes with its
emptiness.
As Jim explores the city, he slowly starts to come
to the realization that something terrible has happened. Newspapers
declare an epidemic has fallen upon England. But this is much more than
any kind of sickness that anyone has ever seen before, and it means the
end of the world if it spreads.
I think I'll leave the plot
description there, because with just about any film, knowing too much
before watching it can ruin it for you. I know my hyping of this film
to friends set them up for disappointment when they eventually saw it.
That said, I highly recommend it. Boyle is an amazing director - a real
talent to keep an eye on, and he delivers some beautiful images in this
film, as well as some terrifying ones. The real strength I think,
though, lies in Alex Garlands script.
Garland, whod never
written a screenplay before this one, references a number of other
films and ideas in his story: The Day of the Triffids, Romeros Dead
films, The Omega Man, and Stephen Kings The Stand. He uses the
strongest concepts from these stories to make whats sort of the
penultimate zombie film which, ironically, isnt even about zombies,
technically.
The cast is incredibly strong, dedicating
themselves totally to what must have been a very gruelling film to work
on. Its easy to see why Murphy was such a strong contender for the
Batman role with the intensity that he exudes in this film; hes both
sympathetic and terrifying all at the same time. The other standout is
Naomie Harris, who plays Selena, a fellow survivor of the epidemic and
a woman whos learnt a fiery sense of ruthlessness in the face of the
worlds end. Focusing on only these two performers, however, is to
ignore the rest of the cast, who all take this material and really,
really make it work.
28 Days Later isnt a film to be watched
lightly. Its something you sit down with in a dark room, staring
intensely at the screen from the moment it starts to the last name
rolls in the final credits. Its grisly, its unrelenting, but its also
completely entertaining.
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