28 Days Later : Another Scary Zombie Thriller

As a large fan of zombie films, I had seen most movies in the genre. I have to admit, it was getting tiring to simply see ridiculous amounts of gore, while the movie had no effect on me whatsoever. I wanted a zombie film that actually shocked me, instead of simply entertaining me with creative killings of the main characters. "28 Days Later" was a godsend that rescued and re-created the zombie-film genre.

While the basic plot-line of all zombie-films is still here, the plot is given new life. The film starts out with a gripping introduction at a primate testing facility, where violent animal-rights activists have broken in. They are about to release the chimps that are in quarantine, until a scientists stumbles in on them. He warns then that the apes are infected with a mysterious virus simply called "Rage". A drop of blood or saliva can infect a person in 20 seconds.

Of course, the activists don't give a flying fuck, and they open the cages. Chaos ensues as the ape bites an activist, sending her off into fits, seizures, and vomits of blood. Her eyes turn the signature blood-red, and she attacks and kills everyone else in the lab.

Below is the only mention of the title, there are no opening credits.

28 Days Later.

Our main character/hero, named Jim (Cillian Murphy), wakes up in a hospital, unaware of the apocalypse that has occurred while he has been in a coma at the hospital. He grabs some cans of soda in a bag, and roams through the abandoned city of London. He reads a newspaper that quickly states "Evacuation", and the movie starts off. He discovers a church in which lie hundreds of "infected", which are the maniacal, contagious, and incredibly fast zombie-like creatures in this movie.

In fact, the fact that they can run fast, and that they have some sort of intelligence to get through basic doors and to be attracted to the light, is what makes them so much scarier than the dumb, slow zombies of George A. Romero. Jim is running around, being chased by plenty of the fast monsters, until he meets up with two survivors; the bad-ass Selena (Naomie Harris) and the milder Mark (Noah Huntley). Jim takes them to his parents' house in search of safety.

Later, they meet up with the cab driver Frank (Wonderfully played by Brendan Gleeson) and his 15 year old daughter Hanna (Megan Burns). They journey out to what they believe is a military barrack, where a cure may lie to the virus. Unfortunately, they find a much less civilized society…

This film is terrific in almost every way. The scene of peace during the group's travel to the barrack is wonderful. Not only does it give a breather from the great action scenes, but it allows for the audience to connect with the characters, whose minds and connections are deeper than most typical zombie killers'.

The imagery and cinematography of the film is also beautiful, with the entire film being shot with a cheap, digital camera, which was a first in the industry. In fact, the film was made on a bare-bones budget (For Hollywood) of $8 Million bucks. Instead of spending money on cool special effects, clever cinematography creates the shocking scenes of the abandoned city of London, and the insane intensity of the action scenes.

The acting in the film is excellent, with most of the actors being unknown. All of them portray shock, sadness, and brutality with precise execution. Most notable is Brendan Gleeson, who gives a great performance that connects to the audience extremely well.

While this film strays from the most graphic killings, the deaths themselves are much more shocking than typical gore-fests.
The brutality of true human nature is also a main theme of this movie. The possibility of the rape scene in the mansion gave a shocking insight on how far society had regressed. The soundtrack is also an excellent mix of guitar, electronic, and rock. It gives the action scenes a bang, and adds a sense of peace in the more quiet scenes. This movie will please any horror fans. It gives new blood to the genre, and is sure to shock any who watch it.

Final Score: 9/10. Great cinematography, plot, acting, soundtrack and directing.