DVD Vault: 28 Days Later (2002)

Director Boyle induces primary fear with zombie-like spectacle

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

ONE of the most terrifying and sinister movies to ever see the light of day is, hands down, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, a post apocalyptic frenzy of societal mayhem and global exodus that--for lack of better words--scared the shit outta me! Not literally, of course, but it's probably come the closest!

The 2-hour cinematic tour de force starts us off at the Cambridge Primate Research Facility, where disinclined chimpanzees have been deliberately infected with what one scientist referred to as "rage." A PETA-like group of armed protesters barge into the labs to salvage the afflicted beasts, inadvertently allowing the contagion to affect humans for the first time.

We skip forward to a dormant hospital in downtown London, where Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier, has just awoken from a coma 28 days after all hell has broke loose. Oblivious to the catastrophic menace that has plagued his homeland, and perhaps the rest of the world, Jim is bewildered by the ominous cityscape that lays absent of human existence.

He finally comes across a pair of vigilantes, Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), who rescue him from the "infected," ravenous and demonic humans who have been altered to resemble figments of their past selves, preying on the uninfected and relentlessly hunting them down. The first thing that comes to mind would be zombies, but these vicious slaughterers are quicker, stronger and smarter than anything out of a George A. Romero movie.

After Mark succumbs to the terminal virus Jim and Selena find themselves alone in the abandoned metropolis until they befriend Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns), a father and daughter remotely surviving within a high rise apartment complex. Together they adhere to their unprecedented circumstance and agree to leave the city for a soldier blockade near Manchester, where a pre-recorded radio transmission promises "the answer to the infection." They stock up on necessary--and some unnecessary--supplies and head for the uncertain army base that offers no guarantees of salvation.

On their arrival at the seemingly desolate concrete siege, Frank is suddenly stricken with the sickness, and before he is able to gorge his own disconcerted daughter, he is shot down by a group of pouncing soldiers, led by Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston). The gunmen happily take in Jim, Selena and a grief-stricken Hannah, as they all take refuge in a local mansion, set up to allow the soldiers awareness of any unannounced visitors.

But, like the alluring sirens of Greek mythology, the troops have misplaced intentions, fixated on their deprivation of women and sex. Selena and Hannah find themselves the involuntary subjects of the men's carnal urges, while Jim is left for dead, or so they thought. A newfound potency emerges within the destitute Jim, who embarks on a rescue mission of the only two people he has left in his life. One by one, each soldier meets his maker, and the trio of outcasts run for the hills, waiting out the infection in a modest sanctuary located within the tranquil countryside.

Moments of sheer and utter terror run rapid in 28 Days Later, subdued by disheartening compassion, fleeting melancholy, and transient wit, cased within a bleak setting that has been immaculately captured by a director who obviously knows what he's doing (and who has since gone on to helm Slumdog Millionaire). Well-placed imagery and a haunting tone (composed by John Murphy) encompass this stylistic piece of horrific art, telling of a nightmare that tip-toes on conceivability, albeit improbable. There in lies the ultimate fear of Boyle's magnum opus of horror, knowing that a communicable virus could easily signify the collapse of a species such as ours, spreading like wildfire until humankind runs its course. Rent it, borrow it or buy it...whatever you do, see it!

5/5 stars

Epilogue: Couldn't get enough? Luckily for fans of 28 Days Later, a dizzying sequel, 28 Weeks Later, ensued five years later (2007), but Boyle surrendered his director's chair to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and settled in as a co-producer instead. Boyle is apparently in talks to direct the third installment in the spine-chilling series, titled 28 Months Later, though no details have been released yet. SiM will surely keep you posted though!
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