...one of the better horror films released in the last decade.
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Zombie films are a significant sub-genre of horror films. George A. Romero practically created the genre with his landmark "Night of the Living Dead." Since then, a number of imitators, homages and valiant efforts have been created to keep the undead alive in theater houses. Every once in a while a new entry in the genre will bring excitement, but slasher films and horror-comedies have ruled the horror genre for the past couple of decades. Nothing terribly fresh or exciting has changed the perception of zombies since Romero´s slow moving mass of dead flesh first assaulted a little farmhouse. Zombies die when shot in the head. Those that die are brought back to life and a bite from a zombie typically means a transformation to the undead in a few short hours. The zombie handbook created by Romero´s trilogy has been followed faithfully and after forty years, a new zombie movie is typically just another "Night of the Living Dead" follower.
"Trainspotting" director Danny Boyle injected new blood into the zombie genre with his film "28 Days Later." Although the attacking horde are technically not dead and are humans infected with a virus that creates a bloodthirsty abnormal state, "28 Days Later" follows many of the conventions of a zombie film. A small band of survivors is alone in the world and must survive and escape from an escalating number of antagonists who view them as a walking warm meal. However, once you move beyond the basic premise of the film, the typical zombie conventions have been thrown out of the window by Boyle and writer Alex Garland. The zombies no longer trudge along at a snail´s pace. They now run with great fervor and are both agile and aggressive. A fast pace will no longer provide escape and for many a hard sprint will not suffice either. To bring down a Rage induced zombie does not require the prerequisite shot to the head. These living, but infected zombies suffer mortal deaths. They may be easier to kill, but they are far more dangerous and deadly than previous movie zombies.
The film begins with unruly animal rights terrorists breaking into a research laboratory. There they find a number of Chimpanzees that are being tested and treated in a cruel manner. One monkey is strapped to a chair and has his eyelids force open as violent imagery plays in front of him in a scene reminiscent of something from "A Clockwork Orange." What the activists do not know is that the monkeys in question have been infected with a virus called Rage. Rage is an appropriate name because it forces those it infects to act in a horribly erratic manner and become a savage killing machine hell bent on destruction and flesh eating. Although warned that dire consequences will result if the activists free the monkeys, they do so. Once freed, the cannibalistic monkeys attack the activists and infect them with Rage.
Twenty eight days pass and Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakens in a deserted and apparently ravaged London hospital. There are no doctors in site and no evidence that anybody had been in the hospital recently. There is clutter and disorganization surrounding Jim which provides evidence that something has happened. He collects some clothing, a few items of nourishment and some soda and then he leaves the hospital to find he is completely alone and isolated in a post-apocalyptic London. Cars and busses have been wrecked. Paper is strewn everywhere. The more he travels by foot the more he realizes that something catastrophic has occurred. People have died and others have fled London. Papers are posted to walls and other structures inquiring about missing persons and leaving notes behind for others to read. In the twenty eight days while he was comatose, the world has perhaps ended. Confused and alone, Jim seeks shelter in the symbolic building of peace and tranquility; a church.
Sanctity is not found within the church. What Jim does find is an orgy of zombies tearing flesh from the dead to whet their cannibalistic appetites. At first, Jim does not realize the danger around him. He sees the pastor and calls out to him for help. By calling out to the Rage infected preacher, Jim alerts the congregation of undead to his presence and the preacher gives pursuit and it doesn´t take Jim long to realize that something is terribly wrong and he flees the House of the Lord with fear for his life. While he is running to stay ahead of the hungry pursuers, a few firebombs are thrown into the crowd and Jim is introduced to his rescuers Mark (Noah Huntley) and Selena (Naomie Harris). They have been fighting off the Rage infected Londoners and have holed themselves up inside of a newsstand in the London Underground. After being rescued by the two from the waves of attackers, exposition is given to Jim detailing what exactly has happened to London and its citizens.
The next day, Jim is escorted by Mark and Selena to his parents flat. There Jim finds his parents dead in bed. They have committed suicide to avoid the bloody plague. Unable to return to their safe newsstand in the London Underground, the three decide it is best to spend the night at Jim´s parents´ house. Jim makes a major mistake in lighting a candle and within moments a horde of the Infected converges upon the house. Only Jim and Selena survive the onslaught and Selena is forced to deal with an infected Mark. This serves to detail how quickly the virus spreads and shows that Selena has perhaps become heartless and uncaring in her bid to survive. The next morning the two return to London and discover window lights that lead them to the apartment of Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and his daughter Hannah (Megan Burns). There Mark and Selena are treated warmly and provided with food and shelter. Selena again shows her cold side and suggests that Frank and Hannah will only get them killed by the Infected.
When they awaken, Frank has Jim and Selena listen to a broadcast message from the military. It details that an answer to the infection has been found and the message offers up hope and safety for Frank. With supplies starting to wane and the number of attacks by the Infected increasing against Frank´s skyrise stronghold, the four decide it is time to move on and seek out the military presence. Selena is reluctant, but agrees to make the journey. A flat tire, fleeing rats, a shopping spree and a quiet overnight stay in the country passes the time before they arrive at the location of the message. However, it appears the military has left their post and a feeling of hopelessness surrounds the foursome. Frank is soon shot to death by a number of hidden soldiers and they take the three survivors to a large country mansion where it has been fortified and a capable defense built to protect soldiers and survivors from the Infected.
The soldiers do not have an answer for the infection, but they do have a means of survival. They also do not have women. Their leader, Major West (Christopher Eccleston) tells Jim that he has promised his men women and Hannah and Selena are forced into gowns and an eventual role as sexual slaves to the soldiers. Jim is uncomfortable with these plans and West orders one of his men to take Jim into the forest and kill him. This doesn´t work according to plan and Jim escapes and returns to the mansion to free his two female companions. During the attack, Jim frees an infected soldier who is chained like a dog. Jim and the infected soldier, Private Mailer (Marvin Campbell) attack and kill a number of the soldiers. Jim is driven by an anger that rivals the Rage of Mailer and the military utopia of Major West is brought down in a rain drenched evening of bloodshed. The film ends with Jim, Selena and Hannah living in a small cottage on the British countryside and flagging down a fighter jet with hope of rescue.
"28 Days Later" is simply brilliant filmmaking. This fresh and aggressive take on the zombie genre creates an energetic and invigorating experience. Alex Garland has penned a masterful script that combines the terror of solitude and isolation with an adrenaline rush of Rage infected zombies. With the film switching gears from beginning to end, "28 Days Later" keeps audiences uneasy as to what may happen. The slower scenes which would typically give an audience a peaceful breather are oftentimes tense and uncomfortable. People have a natural fear of being isolated and alone. If there is danger lurking, then that fear is magnified tremendously. "28 Days Later" uses its more quiet moments to play upon that fear. Then, when the action picks up and blood starts being torn from bones, the film uses aggressive pacing and harsh visuals to incite fear among the audience. In watching "28 Days Later," you never know where the scary parts lie.
The reinvigoration of the classic zombie genre is another asset to "28 Days Later." Alex Garfield and Danny Boyle threw out the notion that zombies were painfully slow, not overly intelligent and dead. The historical voodoo zombie is a person in a near dead state that is unaware of his own consciousness. In this film, they are in a similar state of unconsciousness, but are not the lethargic workers of Jamaican myth. They are diseased and overly aggressive people who are unaware of the violent ways their diseased brains are forcing them into. The zombies of "28 Days Later" are a force to be reckoned with. They move swiftly and attack in rabid hordes with a ferociousness that was never previously seen in a zombie movie. In the George A. Romero world, you fear the sheer numbers of the zombies and becoming trapped and overwhelmed by them. In the Danny Boyle world, you have that same fear, but you are running for your life from then and the ability to run and hide is tremendously reduced.
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[release]22483[/release]