July 26, 2003
28 Days Later
My friend Johnny says that zombie movies are his favorite because they tell the story of what happens when civilization is stripped away. Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave stripped the veneer away from three London yuppies and let them slip into a war of all against all, so you'd think he'd be a natural to make a zombie film. You'd be right; 28 Days Later is really good. The setup -- they're not the walking dead, but victims of some sort of zombifying virus that is transmitted through blood and saliva and takes effect within seconds -- means that the zombies can be something other than the shambling braineaters I know and love, and it works magnificently: the zombies are creepy as hell. The film is lovely, too; I don't normally care for feature films shot on digital video, but it looks just right for post-apocalyptic London. (The cinematographer is associated with the Dogme 95 folks, so video is presumably his métier.) The contrast between London and the bucolic countryside is handled nicely, too. The second half of the film gets a bit too man-vs.-man society-gone-mad for my tastes (a bit too Shallow Grave, in fact). Romero's best movies knew that human conflict is supposed to be the backdrop and subtext for zombie-related carnage, not the other way around, and this falls down on that front, but I still liked 28 Days Later a heckuva lot.
(Bonus: A song by Godspeed You Black Emperor! on the soundtrack. Their music makes my commute feel cinematic and sweeping; it's no surprise that it works well as the protagonist runs through an abandoned London. Extra bonus for the distaff sex: V. says that the protagonist was knuckle-chewingly hot. Extra extra bonus: There's apparently a new ending now playing after the credits; I might go back and see it again, because I am a sucker, yes I am.)
A lot of people have carped about the DV, but I also liked it a lot. Both the look of it and the stripped down, slightly cruddy feel that is important for a good zombie movie.
I saw 28 Days Later last Saturday and thought it was a beautiful movie, those bluish purple London skies and all... even though it's a zombie movie. Really liked it. The protagonist Cillian Murphy is definately hot. I didn't know they had an alternative end after credits! Dammit!
Both the look of it and the stripped down, slightly cruddy feel that is important for a good zombie movie.
...it was a beautiful movie, those bluish purple London skies and all
Yeah -- normally I resent DV films for looking so damn cheap, but here that cheapness was both entirely appropriate and genuinely attractive. The yellow skies of London and the supersaturated countryside were really memorable.
I still have not even seen a copy of the soundtrack, and I have been looking. I wonder what the deal is.
Don't know how I missed this review, I am way late to the party.
Great site guys... Keep up the good work :)