28 Days Later

• Directed by Danny Boyle
• November 1, 2002

A London bike courier wakes from a coma to discover that a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus has been released causing the breakdown of society.

Danny Boyle is among my favorite directors. In general he brings something different to whatever he’s worked on. Whatever it is may be science-fiction or horror but it’s uniquely Danny Boyle and he does just that here. 28 Days Later has moments of scares and fright but it’s much more about the humans involved than it is about the extraordinary events they are experiencing..

Early on 28 Days Later engages in something that many movies do that makes no sense. The rage virus that causes all the problems is released by some animal rights activists set on releasing some lab animals. What makes no sense is that the characters sneak around with their faces covered and then once they are inside where all the cameras and everything are they take their masks off and are upset when somebody sees them because now they know who they are. Really? Why do so many movies do that?

The characters also can be quite loud in situations that they should probably not be. The infected are quite easily attracted by noise but go ahead and shout and argue. I don’t need them to be speaking in the most hushest of tones, but something a little quieter is warranted. That aside it does do plenty right.

I have heard this referred to as a zombie movie, but I do not think it is any great revelation that it is not. The infection doesn’t raise the dead. It makes the living blindly angry. The concept has superficial aspects of a zombie movie but the story is about an epidemic or pandemic.

The bulk of the horror comes from people rather than the infected. The diseased do create some scares but the situation the story happens in means that humanity from society has been stripped away. This is exemplified when the cast meets the military who have been promised women.

Being a lower budgeted film 28 Days Later focuses on the characters. Danny Boyle along with the cast give us distinct and interesting characters that we want to see survive. We’re not waiting for their next kill or to see who falls next or cheering for a particular one to get murdered. Rather we want them live and when they don’t it’s a bit of a punch. 

The general gray tone of many of the shots and the lack of ambient sound makes this unsettling. There’s not very much ambient noise and the background music tends to highlight a dramatic scene while also breaking the unsettling silence. It creates an atmosphere and vibe that is authentic and natural rather than forced.

No character is ridiculously capable and there are no implausible moments given the established rules. Danny Boyle keeps it as authentic and realistic as one possibly can in such a scenario. Selena (Naomie Harris) never comes off as physically superior to the military such as they are. Jim (Cillian Murphy) is certainly no great physical threat but his character relies on intelligence and seizes his moments when they present themselves while taking action. His success in the climax depends on brains. Nothing comes off as forced. Even Frank (Brendan Gleeson), the dad getting the blood in his eye, is very well done. It’s a moment of frustration that leads to serious consequences. The set up like so much is very natural.

I don’t think any character is truly evil until that one moment comes where they decide where they are confronted with just how terrible decision or actions they are taking and decide to continue with them anyway. You can be convinced that you’re doing the right thing, but you certainly go down the wrong road when it’s pointed out how wrong it is and you continue on. Such as Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston) who promises his men and women so that they will have a reason to live. He doubled down and decided on getting vengeance when it started falling apart rather than conceding that he shouldn’t have done it. 

The characters complement each other. Nobody’s really superfluous and nobody’s really superior. Each character contributes to the drama. This also engages in a real economy of storytelling. There are minimal establishing shots and everything contributes to the total story. This is storytelling done right!

28 Days Later is a great zombie movie that’s not technically when you get down to it. It’s strangely believable and authentic and just more about the horrors of people than the horrors of a massive infection.