While technically not a zombie film, 28 Days Later marked the beginning of a new era for the horror sub-genre. Here the "zombie's" run, and fast. However the film is much more than the novelty of quicker monsters. It examines the fears of the new millennium, and manifests them within a forever popular format. 28 Days Later is frighteningly relevant to today, and in many ways more so than it was in 2002.
So the zombies run. That's one of the first things that come into discussion with this movie. That and the fact that they are not zombies, they are "Infected." This may seem a bit strange, but the best analysis of contemporary zombies that I have heard, came from a video game journalist, Adam Sessler. He is the one gaming journalist who I do not think is a complete moron.
Here's a video of him talking about zombie movies and games:
While 28 Days Later may have been still shooting when 9/11 attacks occurred, that only makes the sub-textual hysteria prophetic, rather than reactionary. It is nonetheless interesting to see how zombie culture has changed as a result of terrorism.
Apes infected with a Rage virus are released by some asshole activists and it quickly spreads across England. A man named Jim awakes 28 days after the outbreak to find that he is all alone. Director Danny Boyle has stated that in making the film he wanted to conjure up people's growing fear of getting sick, and actually based the Rage virus on Ebola. In a society that is obsessed with hand sanitizer, I would say that Boyle hit the nail right on the head. As the story develops, there is eventually a party of The Scarecrow, Moneypenny, and Alastor Moody on a journey to find safety from the virus.
However, it is not the zombies that are the most terrifying aspect of 28 Days Later. It is how vividly Danny Boyle articulates with images that this is indeed the end of the world. The shots of Jim walking through desolate streets of London paint a unnerving image of complete loneliness and isolation. The central fear factor in 28 Days Later is not the death of a single individual, but of all mankind. This makes each human interaction precious, and the excellent script and acting create a cast of characters that we as an audience genuinely care for, and whose survival we pray for. This feeling of being on the brink of extinction is magnified by the fact that it was shot in a digital video format, giving the film a raw and gritty look.
I actually came across this film back in high school because of it's great musical score. It's most famous track, In the House, In a Heartbeat, has been featured in the trailers to movies such as Beowulf (2007) and Death Sentence (2007), and because of this track, I hunted down the film it was from. The score hits all the right notes, and amplifies the emotions in each scene, both the intense and serene.
In 2007, a sequel was released, titled 28 Weeks Later. The film is solid, although not nearly as good as the original. The film is a metaphor for the U.S. occupation in Iraq, and how poorly it had been going. What's most notable about 28 Weeks Later is its opening sequence, which is one of the best moments in any film within the horror genre. It is reason enough to give it a watch.
28 Days Later is one of the absolute best horror films of the 21st century, and paved the way for a whole new generation fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment