28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)

28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)
by Danny Boyle

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Movie Reviews of 28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)

Movie Review: Superb blend of horror and post-apocalyptic fiction
Summary: 5 Stars

The premise is a familiar one, a terrible plague sweeps through England, leaving the survivors to come to grips with a drastically altered world. However, from the beginning, ""28 Days Later" defies convention. The film opens with animal rights activists ignoring the warnings of a researcher that his chimp subjects are infected with "rage" and liberating the animals. It quickly becomes clear when the first chimp is released that there is something drastically wrong. The next shot, however, is twenty-eight days later, which finds the main character, Jim, coming out of a coma in a locked hospital room. Thus, the viewer, like Jim, is thrown into an abruptly and mysteriously empty landscape.

As Jim travels a deserted London, the viewer is treated to a series of remarkable images: piles of money blowing around, cars abandoned in the middle of intersections, newspapers proclaiming disaster, and most poignantly, a message board clearly inspired by those that appeared around the WTC following 9/11. However, it is Jim's first encounter with another living person that defines this movie. Jim, understandably wanders into a church, where he encounters a deranged priest, who within seconds he is forced to bludgeon. Thus, from the very beginning, the director, Danny Boyle, shows that social convention is abandoned in his world; if a priest can become a source of danger, no one is safe.

The other compelling aspect of this encounter is the illustration of what this rage disease does to its victims. Essentially, it turns them into zombies, intent on mayhem and destruction. However, unlike zombies of the past, these movie creations are terrifyingly fast and lethal, rather than lumbering and vaguely befuddled. Thus, as Jim encounters other survivors, and they set out in the hope of safety at a military base, they are haunted by fellow humans, infected with the absolute worst in our human nature.

To say more would spoil the plot, but the film offers a host interesting elements to consider. First off, the actors are relative unkowns, so there is an "everyman" quality about the characters that is immensely compelling. They aren't brilliant scientists or ex-commandos, just everyday people struggling to survive in a world gone mad. The core characters are the aforementioned Jim, Selena, Frank, and Frank's daughter Hannah. The only actor that would be readily recognizable to most people would be Brendan Gleeson, who played Hamish in "Braveheart", who does a superb job as Frank in this film.

The range of emotions and issues that these characters deal with is daunting. Aside from mere survival (which is all the more treacherous due to the absence of firearms in Britain), they face survivor's guilt, and a world in which they must kill infected priests, children and even friends. Even more compelling, however, is another nod to the post-9/11 world: what happens when in fighting the enemy we take on their worst characteristics. Is survival an end unto itself, or does their need to be something more?

In drawing on these themes Boyle and screenplay writer Alex Garland, have drawn from numerous influences. Matheson's "I Am Legend" is apparent in a world where normal humans have become the minority and must kill the new majority to survive. There is also a tunnel scene that is strongly reminiscent of Larry Underwood's escape from Manhattan in King's "The Stand". Furthermore, the conclusion of the films looks to have been strongly influenced by Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in general, and Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" specifically. Finally, the conclusion also puts me in mind of the end of Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange"; although very different in terms so setting and scene, both speak to the short, albeit brutal, lifespan of rage. All that said, I should emphasize that these influences are never ripped off or copied. Rather, in the finest artistic tradition, they are acknowledged as influences and then modified into something new.

With all this drama and tension, one might suspect that "28 Days Later" is unbearably serious, but nothing could be further from the truth. The comic relief is appropriate, timely and intelligent. In particular, there is one scene inside a grocery store that had me laughing out loud.

Technically, the disc is superb. The film was shot using digital camcorders, so it's never going to have the resolution of a traditional release, and above and beyond that fact, some shots have been left deliberately grainy so as to produce a nostalgic effect. That said, the picture looks as good or better than when I saw the film in a theater. The sound is also excellent and is used effectively throughout the film. Like "The Exorcist" much of the movie is shown without a soundtrack, so when music is present, it heightens the tension immeasurably.

The disc also includes an excellent selection of extra features. There are three alternate endings, two of which were filmed and one which was storyboarded and then narrated by Garland and Boyle. There are also several deleted scenes, all of which feature excellent commentary from Garland and Boyle. Finally, there is an interesting making of documentary; in addition to the usual interview with cast and crew, it offers some insight into the nature of infectious disease, and comments on the possibility of a "28 Days Later" type scenario actually occurring.

"28 Days Later" is a film of remarkable power, even as it offers a unique horror/post-apocalyptic tale, it explores our humanity and our deepest fears at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is the rare film that lives up to its hype and is not to be missed.

Jake Mohlman

Summary of 28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)