Within the first minute, 28 Days Later makes its point. The first scenes of extreme violence are not caused by a virus, plague, or infection. It’s normal, human-on-human violence, the kind we see every day on the news or online. Zombie and zombie-adjacent movies are so often used as commentary on the extreme situations that lead to humans committing atrocities. 28 Days Later starts with the reminder that it doesn’t take extremes, we’re already there. It’s how we survive it that matters.
- Directed by: Danny Boyle
- Written by: Alex Garland
- Starring: Cillian Murphy. Naomie Harris. Christopher Eccleston
Not How I Remembered It
Rewatching 28 Days Later with H3 (Horror Hating Husband), I realized I had misremembered the movie a bit. Not that I over or underestimated the quality. In my memories, it exists as a zombie movie. It’s not though, not really. 28 Days Later is a survival movie.
That may seem like nitpicking. There can be some differences in pacing, dramatic tension, and the overall feel of the movie. What really separates the two, is zombie movies are about the breakdown of society, usually with a focus on the corruption of humanity. 28 Days Later is about how people survive in an already destroyed society. Every character in the movie has found a way to protect themselves and keep existing.
There are moments of dramatic rage-zombie-fueled horror and action, but it’s regular human’s actions in the quiet moments that are more horrific. I’m not talking about how quickly Selena puts down an infected party member; that’s just logical.
Details Matter
It’s the details that highlight the desperation. There is something familiar and personal to the scenes of abandoned streets, or the shot of the slowly emptying fish tank. They underline the severity of the situation much more than a hundred anonymous dead bodies. Although the church filled with dead bodies does get me every time.
Living through a lockdown and experiencing the surreal feeling of abandoned city streets does make those early scenes hit a little differently. It’s easy to look at survivors’ behavior in zombie movies, and scoff at how unrealistic and extreme it is. Until in the real world, the mildest inconvenience interrupts people’s lives and all of a sudden, all the zombie movies start to look…subtle.
Danny Boyle does an amazing job of framing Cillian Murphy in the massive landscape, dwarfing him in the vast nothingness. I cannot overstate how much I love the cinematography and editing in 28 Days Later.
It’s All About Survival
Much has been discussed over the years as to how 28 Days Later is several different movies in one. But it’s all just under the umbrella of survival horror, how these people chose to keep on living and persevering against all odds. Where they chose to find hope, and what happens when the abandoned it.
Frank is the best example of this. He’s one of the few characters who the movie explicitly punishes for giving in to despair and frustration. His fate is a major turning point in the movie as it enters its third act.
Because this is a survival movie and not a zombie movie, our characters are smart enough to know that something is off with Major West and his unit. Of course, the chained-up, infected soldier in the back yard is a huge indication that these soldiers are nuts. He does reinforce the point Boyle makes in his opening scenes. Their situation is just more people killing people. Like the others, West is struggling to find hope in the worst times. He’s just chosen a dark path to get there.
About People
Human nature is a funny thing. Some will try to rebuild for everyone, and others will try to grab what they can for themselves. This is not unique to end-of-the-world scenarios, it’s just how people are built. West straddles this line carefully. He’s evil, no doubt, but it’s a complex, desperate evil. His vision of building a future is narrow and frankly unsustainable. In the moment when he created his plan, he saw no other options.
Everything after that is just escalation of crazy. It’s one thing to hatch an evil plan to keep your men sane. It’s another to put it into action with living people as your victims. West thinks he has what it takes to survive, but as Jim slowly dismantles his operation, he becomes more and more unglued. However, his final act of revenge isn’t about Jim running his plans, it’s about the deaths of his men.
Meanwhile the boyish Jim becomes a battle-hardened survivor. Boyle’s choices in framing him in the confrontation at the Manchester blockade set Jim up in a similar manner to how the infected are shown earlier in the film. It’s his evolution from prey to predator. It’s so extreme that when he finally rescues Selena, she has to question if he’s been infected or not.
Ending Strong
The third act of 28 Days Later could be an entire movie on its own. It’s the tensest and action-filled part of the movie. It also delivers the most “zombie” action. Looking at the current reviews of the 28 Year Later, it seems like it’s the part of the movie most people remember most vividly. The majority of 28 Days Later is deliberately paced with brief moments of action.
I’m not sure if I’m going to see 28 Years Later in theaters or wait for streaming. H3 enjoyed 28 Days well enough but felt like it was a complete story. As do I. Without continuing the story of Jim, Selena, and Hannah, I’m not sure how invested I am in the world. Although I do want to see more of the vision and style of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.
Final Thoughts:
Every time I get H3 to sit through a horror movie and he doesn’t hate it, I feel like it’s high praise. In his own words 28 Days Later was, “Visually impressive with fantastic performances, but not a zombie movie”, which is pretty good all things considered. The lack of detailed gore, jump scares, and lingering misery does make 28 Days Later a much easier entry for the zombie curious.
28 Days Later is available on PlutoTv.
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