Directed by:
Danny BoyleScreenplay:
Alex GarlandCinematography:
Anthony Dod MantleComposer:
John MurphyCast:
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer, Christopher Dunne, Luke Mably, Ricci Harnett, Noah Huntley (more)Plots(1)
A powerful virus is unleashed on the British public following a raid on a primate research facility by animal rights activists. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage the future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them. (20th Century Fox AU)
(more)Reviews (10)
Raw British horror that replaces slow zombies with fast infected people, influencing this horror subgenre for many years to come. The casting of Cillian Murphy in the main role was an interesting move, his face has both boyish and girlish features and his transformation from “someone who’s being dragged on” into “the one that saves everybody” was also interesting. Great.
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A well-written reproduction of the subject of Romero’s mediocre Day of the Dead, spoiled by unsuitable visuals and music. I want a big-budget, celluloid remake by Guillermo del Toro with music by Marco Beltrami!
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First of all, I was surprised that Boyle would venture into something like zombie (or rather, contagion) horror. But as such, I understood it at the beginning and therefore wondered about the inappropriately placed scenes, unsuitable for this genre. Even the unusual musical score suggested that something was amiss. And in the second half, it became clear. Against the backdrop of the struggle for survival, Boyle attempts to portray the behaviour of people in a liminal situation, when they have a choice between retaining a shred of their humanity or being overwhelmed by an instinctive desire to survive at any cost, even at the cost of harming others, and he really doesn't give people the best report card. One of the soldiers in the film says that people killed each other before and will kill each other in the future, in that sense, they are not really that different from the infected. The "infected" themselves are very reminiscent of the aggressive running zombies from Snyder's remake and can occasionally cause a few hear attack situations.
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Though, strictly speaking, 28 Days Later should not be ranked among zombie movies, given that the origin of the apocalypse it depicts would rather place it among contagion films, it draws directly from the tradition of zombie-apocalypse movies on many levels. Furthermore, its international box-office success had a fundamental impact on the revitalisation of the zombie genre in the new millennium. The legacy of zombie movies in the Romero tradition is fully evident here, as the monsters and the apocalypse associated with them serve both as a catalyst for a drama involving a handful of survivors and as a mirror held up to contemporary society and its ills. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland focused specifically on the global phenomenon of rage, which they see – at least in England – as the result of frustration arising from unfulfilled ideals about the value and importance of the individual in a democratic society. The use of digital cameras highlights the immediate tension of the characters, while also serving as a reminder of the mass deployment of security cameras, which are intended to protect people, but only contribute to anxiety and the feeling of diminished privacy, as well as to rising fear in the population brought on by the released footage of criminal acts being committed.
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Danny Boyle won over audiences with Shallow Grave and cemented his reputation as a talented filmmaker with the cult classic Trainspotting. Naturally, expectations were high for his next project, but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the hype, although I still give it 4 stars. It's a film that approaches its subject matter too timidly and indecisively. The pacing of the film fluctuates, the screenplay is awkward at times, and it ends with a disappointingly happy ending. Within its genre, it's still above average, but from the director of Trainspotting, I simply expected more. Overall impression: 70%.
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Woah. This the first time I've had to write the same review a second time. Server crashes are almost unheard of here at FilmBooster (I had to complain somewhere :-). The most impressive scene of the picture 28 Days Later is undoubtedly Cillian Murphy's pilgrimage through depopulated London, which is basically the second scene in the movie. After that, it's a post-apocalyptic movie about survival and human relations, crossed with a not-so-normal zombie horror movie. The flimsy screenplay is a bit of a problem (it can't decide what type of movie it wants to be), but Danny Boyle saves it with visual touches (once even with an oil painting) and unconventional camerawork.
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The film that discovered Cillian Murphy, an actor with an exceptional voice, charisma to spare, and who has masterfully played often alternative characters in films of various genres, for example, 28 Days Later, a pared-down, raw piece in an incredibly grainy and authentic execution that appeals only to a select few connoisseurs.
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I liked it very much, but I can't help feeling that a good chunk of the film ended up in the editing room because the transition between the two parts (the road movie part and the military part) felt a bit rushed. Otherwise, I have nothing to complain about. It was clear to me that this horror film directed by Danny Boyle was not going to be an ordinary horror film... And it's not. Luckily. Many times I was amazed at the carefree atmosphere it exudes, which was certainly due to the soundtrack. The jump scares worked, the infected flesh-eating sprinters were suitably scary... And the over-the-top, nerve-wracking, breathless finale was great too.
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Strong as a whole, but unconvincing in the development of the plot, or solid filmmaking that is hard to keep up with. Either way, Danny Boyle is a very good and smart director who, in the broader narrative context, elevates his film above the level of B-movie (whether in the naturalistic intro or in the end, where is bluntly suggested that the aggressive infection is actually part of the human DNA), but the explicit meanings at times feel so loose and dumbed-down and the character development so hasty that they hurt the film’s added value. The intentionally cheap look is fitting, what is more arguable is the adequacy of the music, and personally I was bothered by some editing montages and the dumb behaviour of the characters. An interesting take on the material that actually deserved a more thoughtful and psychological layering. 65%
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And then that the animal rights people have the welfare of the entire planet at heart... Honestly, I wasn't too keen on the initially trashy style, and for a long time I was convinced that I was watching Danny Boyle's weakest film. But the plot flip in the middle and my reminiscences on The Mist (is the biggest danger lurking outside or inside?) fixed that a bit, and Cillian Murphy is actually a pretty cool bad-ass here. I guess this is how I'd imagine a film made by some hardcore 80s horror fan who has a healthy obsession with zombie themes and no wider ambitions. I can't quite identify with Boyle's intent, so I'm left with pure average (which is pretty low for Boyle).
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