Day 28: 28 Days Later (2002)

A Month of Horror

I have always wanted to do a marathon of "HORROR" throughout the month of October, one where I would revisit a new horror movie every day from the first to the thirty-first.  I will revisit the classics as well as new entries into the canon.  There are many movies that define this time of year, and I hope to showcase 31 of them this month...

October 28: 28 Days Later (2002)

George A. Romero defined the zombie genre with his lumbering undead.  They were corpses risen from the dead to stalk the living.  In 2002, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reinvented the genre with their fast-moving version of the classic zombie, although, they did it with a twist.

The zombies in "28 Days Later" are not in fact zombies; they are normal humans who have mistakenly been exposed to a rage virus.  It is that virus that causes them to take on zombie-like tendencies, albeit at a hyper-speed level.

The opening scenes with Cillian Murphy's Jim wandering through the desolate and deserted core of downtown London, England, are indeed eerie.  When he finally meets Naomie Harris' Selena, after a tense showdown by a gas station, the first seeds of post-holocaust family are placed.

As their band of survivors slowly expands and they make their way towards the inevitable beacon of hope in Northern England, the desperation slowly sets in.

"28 Days Later" does a great job of examining what would happen to our society in the event of an extinction level event.  It showcases both the highs and lows of the human potential, much in the way that Romero did before.

The music by John Murphy also adds a great deal of mood and ambiance to the piece, and if you are curious as to what occurred 28 weeks later, the sequel was also very well done.

Tomorrow, I will be taking a trip into the light, despite the warnings against...