28 Days Later... (2002)

Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

Alex Garland

Stars:

Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston

10 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Palmer	...	Activist
Bindu De Stoppani	...	Activist
Jukka Hiltunen	...	Activist
David Schneider	...	Scientist
Cillian Murphy	...	Jim
Toby Sedgwick	...	Infected Priest
Naomie Harris	...	Selena
Noah Huntley	...	Mark
Christopher Dunne	...	Jim's Father
Emma Hitching	...	Jim's Mother
Alexander Delamere	...	Mr. Bridges
Kim McGarrity	...	Mr. Bridges' Daughter
Brendan Gleeson	...	Frank
Megan Burns	...	Hannah
Justin Hackney	...	Infected Kid

Storyline

Animal activists invade a laboratory with the intention of releasing chimpanzees that are undergoing experimentation, infected by a virus -a virus that causes rage. The naive activists ignore the pleas of a scientist to keep the cages locked, with disastrous results. Twenty-eight days later, our protagonist, Jim, wakes up from a coma, alone, in an abandoned hospital. He begins to seek out anyone else to find London is deserted, apparently without a living soul. After finding a church, which had become inhabited by zombie like humans intent on his demise, he runs for his life. Selena and Mark rescue him from the horde and bring him up to date on the mass carnage and horror as all of London tore itself apart. This is a tale of survival and ultimately, heroics, with nice subtext about mankind's savage nature.

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Plot Keywords:

virus | military | london england | zombie apocalypse | laboratory | 

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Taglines:

His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and nudity

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 June 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

28 Days Later...

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,500,079 (United Kingdom), 3 November 2002, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,061,858, 29 June 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$45,064,915

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,654,970

Company Credits

Production Co:

DNA Films, British Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The news footage which begins the film was based on footage shot by the journalist Sorious Samura in Sierra Leone.

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Goofs

After leaving the hospital, when Jim stands at the bottom of steps at the junction of Carlton House Terrace and Waterloo place, someone is walking down the hill on the right.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Activist: [the three animal activists arrive to the laboratory] Bingo.
Activist: [when seeing all of the caged apes] Fucking hell.

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Crazy Credits

Other than the Fox Searchlight logo, there are no opening credits whatsoever. The title of the movie, 28 Days Later, only appears as a descriptive subtitle.

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Alternate Versions

Fox Searchlight attached an alternative downbeat ending to all 1400 US prints of the film, while it was still in U.S. release. The revised ending was the one that appeared in the original script, but the script's ending was ditched in favor of a happy ending after it did not test well. Director Danny Boyle decided "We can't do this to people, because it was such a tough journey anyway."

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Connections

References The Simpsons (1989)

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Soundtracks

Season Song
Performed by Blue States
Written by Andy Dragazis and Tahita Bulmer
Courtesy of XL Recordings
Published by Hero Music Ltd./Universal Music Publishing Ltd.
(c) 2002 XL Recordings Ltd. (exclusively license from Memphis Industries)

User Reviews

A Pint of Rage

As it so happens, 28 Days Later is the best zombie movie in the last few decades. Probably since Romero's classics, if I recall accurately. It stands up on its own in a genre which is frequently plagued by a sort of innate stupidity, a consequence of one too many dead people. Otherwise how could one explain the fact that the most acclaimed zombie films are parodies of the genre?

28 Days Later shares a striking resemblance with Resident Evil, in that it kind of starts where RE left off: after one of the most exciting intro sequences I have ever witnessed (!), a lonely average-Joe, (Jim in this particular case) wakes up in a deserted London and takes a jolly good walk through the intimidatingly empty streets. Man-kind seems to have been wiped out by a contagious virus which induces a sort of blind rage upon those who fall prey to it. As may have guessed by now, this will be a story of survival.

While most horror films will offer a relatively exciting ride with little more than sparse scares, Danny Boyle's movie sheds a new light on the survival instinct of human beings which can damned well spook the living hell out of you - even if not in the traditional sense. Looking at Children of Men might offer some insight into what it feels like to have no future and this itself may clear the way to appreciating 28 Days Later.

I guess it's one of those rare horror films which not only enlighten the viewer with nice, gory slaughters but also with a share of psychological goodies. 28 Days Later doesn't forget "the Master" either and offers an obvious and unobtrusive tribute to Dawn of the Dead. All around the movie keeps you going because it is an immersive experience and not just a "poke-your-finger" kind of experience.