Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson
Screenplay: Alex Garland
113 mins. Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and nudity.

Everyone caught 28 Days Later fever back in 2002; I was not one of them. I think I hated it the first time I saw it, but that’s the wonderful thing about movies: you can change your mind, your thoughts can evolve, and time allows for a new appreciation. I was one of the few people who got his hands on a copy of 28 Days Later and its sequel in a cheap Blu-Ray bin, and when they became damn impossible to find, I decided to revisit this initial film along with its sequel (and prepare myself for the then-upcoming legacy sequel). While I still don’t like the camera equipment and shaky-cam style, my appreciation has only grown with each watch.

When a group of animal rights activists break into a Cambridge lab and release a number of aggressive chimpanzees, infested with a “rage” virus, they are quickly overcome. 28 Days Later…Jim (Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer) awakens in a London hospital to find it completely empty. Not just that, all of London is lifeless. He joins up with a few other survivors to try to and find a way to stay alive, if that’s even enough.

Writer Alex Garland’s screenplay has a number of obvious influences, including Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead. The basic structure is a little repetitive of other zombie films (and let’s not forget, 28 Years Later canonizes that they are zombies, so don’t give me that “not a zombie, but infected” argument), with the major alteration being this “rage” virus and speedy creatures that make for some truly fascinating visuals and some intense horror sequences. I particularly found the transmission of the virus, with some as simple as a drop of blood or saliva, to be utterly terrifying. It increases the bleakness factor of more traditional zombie tales and makes the creatures into them much more of a constant presence, even when they aren’t around.

The opening of 28 Days Later is intense and also a perfect short story to begin with. The two sequels that followed had a similar short story structure to their opening scenes that end up with an impact on the plot, and this opening has a strong causation of just three activists doing the right thing in a lot of ways and having it all fall down due to their decision.

The core group of characters are all played well, contributing further to the film’s strength. Cillian Murphy’s portrayal is primal, the story of a man taken out of time and placed in the apocalypse without the 28 days that everyone else had to come to terms with this new normal. The scenes where he is forced to become a monster to battle monsters is believable in spite of the man he once was. Naomie Harris (Moonlight) is great, particularly in the scenes near the back half of the film where she tries to comfort Hannah (Megan Burns, Liam) as their situation turns dire, protecting her from a different type of ravenous beast. The real standout is Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Frank, who joins up with Jim and Selena and brings a pessimistic joy to the film while always giving the air of hope to Hannah. His physical performance in the back half of the movie is a wonder.

The score is another strength, though much more understated. John Murphy made a musical composition comprised of electric guitar and indie rock meant to uplift the atmosphere of the film without making its presence known. There’s one particular piece that really stands out the more I watch this movie, and it’s called “In the House – In a Heartbeat.” I’m sure if was featured in other film trailers after release, but when this piece of the music drops during the film’s climax, it’s an absolute banger (that is now in my workout mix), a heavy piece of angry music that perfectly matches Jim’s fracturing humanity.

The BIGGEST and MOST GLARING problem with 28 Days Later is that damn Canon XL1 digital video camera. Most of the film was shot on this camera and it looked awful back in 2002, and it looked terrible on my Blu-Ray copy. In fact, I was certain that the film could never be saved from a visual standpoint, but I will concede that the recent restoration that is now available looks a bit better, making for a much better and more watchable presentation. It still isn’t a good-looking movie, but it’s certainly improved.

28 Days Later is dragged down by that terrible digital camera, but the years have been kinder to it, and even though its story offers nothing new to the classic tales of the living dead, there’s enough style to these running zombies and the downright speed of their spread along with some terrific performances to recommend this classic.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For my review of Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, click here.
• For my review of Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, click here.