zBoneman.com -- Home Movie Reviews

28 Days Later (2003)

Starring:

Brendan Gleeson

Released By:

20th Century Fox

Released In:

2003

Rated:

R

Reviewed By:

Adam Mast

Grade:

A

Buy this item at Amazon.com
zBoneman on Rotten Tomatoes

After delivering suspenseful thrills in Shallow Grave and a drug induced trip with Trainspotting, directory Danny Boyle stumbled a bit with the sporadic A Life Less Ordinary and the over the top The Beach. I'm happy to report that Mr. Boyle is at the top of his game with the new horror flick 28 Days Later.

In the tense filled thriller, a group of animal rights activists unleash a deadly virus when trying to free a cage of infected lab monkeys. Within 28 days, the virus has wiped out nearly all of Europe, turning it's victims into rabid zombies.

Certainly, Boyle was inspired by George Romero's "Dead" trilogy, but it's very reminiscent of Aliens and many other genre pictures as well. Thankfully, Boyle has made a great zombie movie helping me forget about the dismal Resident Evil. I'd even go so far as to say that as a piece of entertainment ripe with social commentary, I enjoyed this more then Day of the Dead, and there are big time similarities between 28 Days Later and and the last installment of the "Dead" trilogy including a crazy militant group and a caged zombie (remember Bub?). I was much more interested in the characters in this movie. They are very well drawn, and I wanted to see them survive.

The performances here are very good, particularly Brendan Gleeson as a single father trying to assure survival for he and his young daughter.

In the end, this is a movie about style and Boyle has plenty of that. The zombies in his world don't stumble around. They are silent and swift and attack without warning. And above all, their pretty damn scary.

Right out of the gate, Boyle sets the tone. This is a movie where anyone might be killed at any second, and I liked that. Certainly there are moments that are calculated and predictable. When our heroes are given a choice of taking a bright sunny trail or an dark, creepy underground tunnel to their destination, they choose the dark, creepy underground tunnel, and coincidentally, they even get a flat tire while making their way to the other end. This didn't bother me in the slightest, because I really wanted them to take the tunnel. There are moments like this throughout 28 Days Later, but it doesn't matter because Boyle has a firm grasp on his audience and this movie is very tense. It's also quite horrific in it's vision of a world destroyed by a deadly virus.

Some of my friends felt that the movie fell apart in the final act, when 28 Days Later more or less suggests that man is the real enemy. I had no problem with that at all. Although I did think that the movie ended on a sunny note, and would have preferred a darker send off.

It has been reported that Romero is hard at work on another "Dead" movie. I can't wait to see what he does with it. For now, Boyle's 28 Days Later is more then enough to wet my appetite. It's taut, thrilling, scary and beautifully shot. It's nice to see Mr. Boyle back in the game.

:: zBoneman.com Reader Comments ::

Deadman

Deadman

Much better film than the new Dawn of the Dead, glad you agree - it's nice to see there are still a few purists who appreciate the classics and value originality over reheated leftovers

P Dizzy

P Dizzy

Jim is a bicycle messenger that gets into an accident and is taken to a hospital to be healed. But little does he know that while he is out of it for 28 days a terrible tragedy is about to befall the world. A virus that locks those infected into a permanent state of killing rage has been accidentally released from a British research facility when some animal activists try and rescue some monkeys that have been infected with the virus. Carried by animals and humans, the virus is impossible to contain, and spreads across the entire planet. Jim wakes to find himself alone in the hospital with nobody around confused to what has happened and no clue to the dangers that are about to befall him. As Jim wanders the abandoned streets alone he is about to find out that he is not alone, for not only has a few uninfected humans survived but so has a host of infected humans hell bent on dragging all humanity down with them. Twenty-eight days later, this small group of survivors whom some Jim befriends will find themselves trapped in London, caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected whom seem to be everywhere. And as they attempt to salvage a future from the apocalypse, they find that their most deadly enemy may not be the virus or those infected with it, but other survivors.

The first part of this movie is almost surreal and most definitely eerie as Cillian Murphy wanders the streets of London with no one in sight and humanity seeming to have totally disappeared. It gives a feeling and a mood that sets the stage for the rest of the movie as there are other survivors but they are locked in a desperate struggle to keep all mankind from being wiped out. This is what you might call your traditional zombie movie and maybe the feeling Resident Evil should have tried to go with in its release. While the movie does end exactly as you would expect it to with the traditional sappy and predictable ending this movie is more about getting to the end rather than the end itself. The movie does a great job at inflicting many emotions throughout such as terror, suspense, excitement and an over all feeling of eeriness. Cillian Murphy does a good job and portraying a confused and emotionally impacted human struggling for survival but I was quite disappointed in Naomie Harris acting job, as she never really draws you into her character. That being said this movie is a great suspense and thriller that keeps you enthralled and thirsting for more as it makes its way to the eventual and predictable end it seemed to be aimed for. This movie may not be suitable for the queasy or impressionable youth.

Stanton

Stanton

Bloody best zombie flick ever. Excellent story line, good restraint, not all about bllod and gore but a bit up there for your head to play with. George Romero you had your day, but step aside because the Boyler has arrived

Add your own comment here and see it posted immediately!
Name: e-Mail:
Comment:
Spam Prevention Check:
Please enter the following code in the box below.
Security Image