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How scared do you think you would be if you found yourself all
alone in the world after waking up from a lengthy coma? If there
was no one to share the good news with or no one at all to speak
to, not even an animal like a cat or dog or even a roach to step
on? When you think about this, you may see this as a preposterous
idea, but considering how close this country came to using its nuclear
weapon against other countries and vice-versa, you have no idea
what kind of effect it would have. Director Andrew Boyle is notorious
for implementing the “what if” scenario with the survival factor
in his films such as “Shallow Grave” (finding a boatload of money)
and “The Beach” (finding a secluded paradise island) and in his
latest film, he brings out the scenario once again to satisfying
degree. In a throwback to yesteryear films (The Omega Man, The Last
Man of Earth), 28 DAYS LATER is a riveting chiller that is more
than just a zombie movie and better than most post-apocalypse films.
Set in present-day London, Jim wakes up from a lengthy coma after
having a bicycle accident. Looking totally skinny and hungry, Jim
walks around the hospital and finds not a sole in sight. Breaking
into candy machines, he eats as many chocolate bars and drinks as
many sodas (Coke, Sprite, etc) as he can to get some sort of energy
back. It seems like the whole town is deserted. The phones don’t
work and there’s no electricity. All over the walls of the city
are words like “Evacuation” and “Leave Now”. When he wanders into
a church, Jim sees a number of dead bodies spread over all inside.
The moment he makes a noise, a priest awakens and comes near him.
The priest is covered with blood and looks at Jim with hunger and
rage. As soon as Jim knocks him out, the other lifeless souls awaken,
and Jim is running for his life. Luckily for him, he is saved by
two strangers, Selena and Mark (Huntley) who clue him in as to what’s
going on. They tell him that 28 days ago, and while he was in a
coma, a virus broke out and affected the whole city. The virus was
filled with rage and anyone who comes within contact via saliva
or blood is immediately infected and driven to madness and murder.
Jim doesn’t believe this, but when he sees what Selena (Harris)
has to do to survive, he has second thoughts and follows her. In
their travels, they catch up with Frank (Gleason) and his daughter
Hannah (Burns), another group of survivors. While listening to taped
recordings from the radio, they believe that the military have blocked
the infected from entering a section in Manchester. Off they go
to what initially looked like a safe haven, but when they get there,
other problems ensue. The leader of the group (Eccleston) has ulterior
motives, which puts Jim’s life as well as the others in peril once
again.
“28 Days Later” is one of the best thrillers to come out in a while.
Granted, the story is nothing new as we have seen this concept played
out in other films. What makes this film unique is that the writers
have come up with something that initially probably wasn’t plausible,
but considering what’s going on with world with its many wars and
the nuclear weapon threat, the story may have some merit. The fact that the film was shot through
a digital camera adds to the creepiness of the film. Its dark and
grainy look does present a chilling effect. Murphy and Harris give
the film solid performances with Harris much more effective with her
kick-ass Ripley from “Aliens” attitude. Gleason and Eccleston are the
only ones who may be familiar to others since they have done more
commercial films. They too give decent performances for their character
roles. The will to survive is put to the test in this film and I
was totally into it as I wondered what I would do if everyone in the world had
gone mad and I was left to start to the healing process. “28 Days
Later” is a thought provoking film that examines human nature with
a solid script.
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