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London mauling.
Review: When I first saw the commercials, I must admit I was perturbed
to see zombies running. After all, zombies are dead and their deteriorating bodies should be
losing, not gaining, abilities. But then I saw the film and realized these weren't zombies in the
literal and historical sense. The sprinting dead then made sense. I never imagined
running zombies would be so frightening,
but these are so fast
and bloodthirsty that the mere sight of them sends chills.
The sequence
where Jim awakens from his coma, exits the hospital and ventures
through the empty streets of London is one of the creepiest sequences ever. The feeling of desolation continues throughout the
film.
And its a joy to watch as Jim transforms from a weak, mild-mannered
commoner to a resourceful & fierce fighter willing to do
whatever needs to be done to survive.
Director Danny Boyle did wonders with a small budget of $8M. The
film was shot mostly on digital video and digital artifacts are
prevalent in some scenes. But instead of removing the sense of
realism, the pixelation works to emphasize the grittiness and
harshness of the material. 28 Days Later has fast pacing,
great acting, top-notch
gory special effects and a tremendous musical score. Alex Garland
wrote a brilliant script and Mr. Boyle created a modern
"zombie" masterpiece.
Full disclosure: It all begins at a laboratory where
Chimpanzees are test subjects in the research of anger and rage. A
group of animal activists infiltrate the facility to free the
primates, but they are unaware of the nature of the research and the
fact the chimps carry something in their blood. Instead of saving
the animals, the activists unleash a virus.
28 days later, Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakens from a coma to find London empty, ransacked and eerily quiet. The
streets are filled with debris and abandoned cars, but not a single soul. As the sun goes down, Jim finally encounters people at
a church, but these less-than-normal parishioners aren't there for
religious reasons. Demented and violent, these individuals chase after
the bewildered patient.
Jim's saviors come in the form of two battle-hardened survivors,
Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), who are armed with
Molotov cocktails and explosives. They rescue Jim and fill him in on
the events of the past month. The world Jim knew is no more. An
infection has spread like a plague across the country and there is
no help in sight.
Fulfilling Jim's request to learn the whereabouts of his
parents, they venture to his house. Sadly his parents' lives were
ended prematurely, but in an arguably better manner than most. In
the middle of the night, Mark is lost in another attack.
Reduced to two, Jim and Selena continue to move and come across two more survivors holed up
in a high-rise apartment building. Frank (Brendan Gleeson), a
warmhearted taxi driver, and his teenage daughter, Hannah (Megan
Burns) take in Jim and Selena. Frank informs them of a radio
transmission from the military that claim they have a cure and can
provide safe haven.
The four pack into Frank's taxi for a road trip to the soldier's
location where they do indeed find sanctuary, but not before Frank
is lost due to an act of frustration.
Led by Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston), the soldiers consist of a mere nine men
in a fortified mansion. They even have an infected soldier chained up and kept for study. They do a commendable job of
keeping the infected at bay, but when it's learned their ideas of
survival don't match those of our three survivors, the two sides
clash in a battle of wills. The soldiers expect the women to be more
than just their guests and a rebellious Jim is taken to the forest
to be executed.
But Jim escapes and returns to wreak havoc. He frees the infected
soldier, who then rampages through
the mansion and eliminates the soldiers one by one. Jim watches
over the carnage and makes his move to rescue Selena and Hannah.
They flee the mansion and make their way to the taxi only to find
Major West lying in wait. The last soldier raises a pistol and
places a bullet in Jim's side.
Hannah, behind the wheel, slams the taxi into reverse and guns it
to the front door of the mansion. The insatiable, infected Private smashes
through the rear window, pulls the Major out of the car and mauls
him. Selena helps Jim into the cab and the trio races to a hospital.
Another 28 days later, Jim wakes up in a small house in the
countryside to find Selena busily sewing. An excited Hannah runs
into the house and the trio grab Selena's handiwork and rush
outside. They lay the fabric on the ground and wait quietly. A rush
of noise is heard getting louder and louder. When the lovely sight
comes into view, they begin jumping up & down and waving their
arms. A Finnish fighter jet flies over them and they realize their
rescue is imminent. They have survived.
Official sites: 28dayslaterthemovie.co.uk, foxsearchlight.com/28dayslater
Learn more: IMDb
DVD version to get: The Special Edition features deleted
scenes and three incredible alternate endings: 28
Days Later (Widescreen Edition) (20th Century Fox, UPC 024543088172)
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