28 DAYS LATER
Released: June 27, 2003
Director Danny Boyle, whose profile rose with his 1996 hit "Trainspotting" and the earlier "Shallow Grave" in 1994, returns with his first major movie since 2000's Leo DiCaprio starrer "The Beach". In what is essentially the British take of George Romero's 1979 horror classic "Dawn Of The Dead", Boyle opts for a lo-fi documentary video feel with this zombie flick. A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. 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 a future, little realising that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them. Unlike the Romero cult fave, the zombies in "28 Days Later" don't wander slowly to their next victims, they run - and FAST too! With Romero's zombies, you get bit and it could take hours before you turn into a zombie yourself. In Boyle's film, you turn in a matter of SECONDS of getting bit. The cast is excellent in this gritty and raw fright fest. Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns make up the prime group of characters, attempting to survive the threat of the many hungry zombies chasing after them. There are enough twists and differences to the Romero film to make it interesting and, oddly enough, "28 Days Later" isn't really that graphically violent compared the brutally gorey 1979 "Dawn Of The Dead". Relying on interesting characters and the way they deal with the situations is what makes "28 Days Later" a much better film than the dreck of "Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines" that is competing in the theatres at the same time.
112 Minutes
Fox Searchlight/20th Century Fox