28 Days Later Description
Danny Boyle (SHALLOW GRAVE, TRAINSPOTTING)
directs this post-apocalyptic thriller set in London after a
deadly, Ebola-like virus has swept through the city. Jim (Cillian
Murphy), a bicycle messenger who was in an accident just days
before the outbreak, is one of very few survivors who awakes 28
days later to a city that has been evacuated and is now utterly
lifeless. He wanders the vacant streets of London feeling as if
he's trapped in a never-ending hallucination. However, upon
entering a church that is littered with dead bodies, he discovers
that he is not alone--"the infected" are still living.
They are violently sick, fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies who
travel at night in ravenous packs. Jim manages to escape "the
infected" and locate a band of survivors--Selena (Naomie
Harris), Hannah (Megan Burns), and Frank (Brendan Gleeson)--and
they join forces searching for solutions, clinging to hope that
somewhere healthy humanity thrives.
A gripping and suspenseful horror film with indie production
values, shot on digital video, 28 DAYS LATER has a pleasing
immediacy. Its actors are primarily young unknowns, its special
effects consist of beautiful photography overlays and flashes of
light with lots of shadow play, and its settings are rich and
dramatic. The soundtrack is one of the film's truest strengths,
with excellent music from Brian Eno, Blue States, Grandaddy, and
Godspeed You Black Emperor guiding the action from the first
minutes through to the last.
"...28 DAYS LATER is the genuine article, a
hard-core horror picture from start to finish....This is a punk
rock zombie movie..."
"When 28 DAYS LATER is not scaring you
silly, it invites you to reflect seriously on the fragility of
modern civilization....Mr. Boyle has hardly lost his sly,
provocative perversity or his ear for the rhythms of unchecked
violence..."
"...Wonderfully, horribly scary....Boyle
knows that the world is an unbelievably terrifying place....He
never takes us fully out of our reality -- he just throws open the
door and watches us scramble..."
"...28 DAYS LATER is a swankily austere
piece of jeepers creepers sci-fi....[A] stark and stylish
apocalyptic horror film..."
"...Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland
plumb the violence of the mind with slashing wit and shocking
gravity. Happy nightmares..."
Theatrical Release Date: June 27, 2003
After a month in U.S. theaters, on July 25, 2003, a new version of
the film was put into circulation with a second ending. After the
original ending a title reading, "But what if..."
appeared onscreen with a 4-minute alternative finish.
"...28 DAYS LATER is a provocative, scary
thriller with timely overtones..."
"...Superior science fiction..."
