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MOVIE REVIEW
28 Days Later
(2003)
Starring:
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson
Director:
Danny Boyle
Rating: R
Studio:
Fox Searchlight
Release Date: 6.27.03
Review
Posted: 7.22.03
Spoilers:
None
By
Christopher T. Bryan
"28 Days Later Is A Tense, Enthralling Picture"
If you took
all the horror movies of the last ten years, put them in a
bucket and then filled it with water to see which ones floated
to the top, 28 Days Later would definitely be one of
them. This is a smart movie that transcends the cheap scare
tactic.
The setup is
that Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a hospital bed to find the
hospital he is in and
London completely deserted. The reason, he discovers, is due to
an outbreak of a rage virus. The virus turns humans into vicious
creatures whose only desire is to kill. This sounds like a
pretty scary movie, but it is much more, fortunately for the
audience screenwriter Alex Garland takes us deep into the soul
of humans, and let’s be honest, what is scarier than the human
soul?
I found it
remarkable that the virus to wipe out human civilization as we
know it in this movie is not the Aids virus, but instead a viral
rage. This makes perfect sense to me in a day when Road Rage is
a common term. Anger builds and intensifies over insignificant
things like traffic, ironically the first time that the
characters in 28 Days Later notice something as simple as
horses galloping. In effect nature is itself, even after society
is gone and things like traffic no longer exist. Does it really
have to come to that for us to take a break?
I have heard
this movie referred to as a reinvention of the zombie genre and
I feel that this is a misrepresentation of the film itself. It
is a Zombie film, however calling it a horror film is a
mislabeling. When the word horror is uttered many audience
members will be turned off and expect a slasher film full of big
busts and sex. 28 Days Later is too intelligent of a film
to be labeled as such. I found myself constantly comparing it
to Lord of the Flies more so than Night of the
Living Dead. Society is gone, and these humans must figure
out how to begin a new civilization. The subject matter brings
up interesting questions, and promoted inner thought.
Cillian
Murphy is an everyman as Jim. He comes across as truly awed by
the emptiness of London, and we feel his pain when we learn the
outcome of his family. By the end of the film he is a scrawny
Rambo, running barefoot through the woods on a mission of
revenge. This wide range makes sense due to Murphy’s excellent
execution of the role. Naomie Harris is a tough as nails Selena
who of course ends up learning a lesson of love by the
conclusion. Harris has a dominant quality about her that kept my
eyes glued to her. The cast is rounded out with great
performances from Christopher Eccleston as a Hitler-esque
leader, Megan Burns as a girl who must find a new family, and
Brendan Gleeson as Megan’s father.
Director
Danny Boyle filmed 28 Days Later digitally. I always
enjoy the handheld camera feel. It makes me feel closer to the
subject matter and brings realness to a film that I don’t always
get otherwise. Some will complain that the image is too grainy,
but again this lends to some of the mystery and gives an almost
documentary feel to the movie.
I liked
28 Days Later because the intensity of the whole film was
not built around music and the special effects; it was powerful
because the subject matter was simply engrossing. I was deeply
enthralled in the plot and then scared back to my senses before
I plunged back in.
Rating: 4 out of 4
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