Review : 28 Days Later.... (2002)

Via vivrocks.com

A man wakes up 28 days after a virus has wiped out England in a hospital and walks out to see deserted roads and destruction and soon finds some survivors and they band together to find the safe zone. Will they survive the unrelentless zombies?


What a movie! What a marvelous movie! Class oozing out of every frame. Commentary spewing out of every scene. Just wow. George A Romero aside but when it comes to some real poignant scenes and harsh political commentary. This isn't too far. As our hero roams the street of London,which never had looked so scary before,we get more creeped out than any fierce looking zombie can make us feel. Its all about the atmosphere. And right from the opening credit scene we know what we are getting our self into. Political statements via zombies isn't a new thing. But to tell it without showing and telling much is something to be really proud of. And rarely we see a horror movie dripping with so much commentary in every frame. But even more is the fact that its a British Horror. Not really known for their stark horror movies this comes as a pleasant surprise. And also that it features fast zombies. And whatever people say it makes them more intimidating. In short its as scary as shit most of the times and it can bring a tear or two if you invest yourself and understand the point behind all the happenings onscreen. Nice!!

Danny Boyle(The Beach, Trainspotting). A name which evokes more respect now after his academy winning Slumdog Millionaire. But to be honest this  remains his best movie. The kind of atmosphere he created and all the impossible in London things he managed to show were just praiseworthy. All the camera angles and the lighting and the stark colour palette combines to make this a wonderfully scary movie. Without much of the zombies. And the truth is the message portrayed so poetically, scared me. Not the zombies. Hurrah to the writer Alex Garland(The Beach, Dredd)  as well. He with the Danny makes it sure that its the humans which scare more than the zombies. And naming the virus 'Rage' was a masterstroke. Because what happens in the opening credit. And what happens after the epidemic. There's not much difference. And all because of rage and 'Rage'. With a fast screenplay, some nice action scenes and scares for the whole of the a little lengthy 2hours. This movie makes its a way in the top 5 of my all time favorite horror movie. And for that cheers Danny and Alex.  

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Acting elevates this movie to another level. Some mindblowing performances from Cilian Murphy(Jim) and Naomie Harris(Selena) just makes you that much more uncomfortable. And are supported well by Brendan Gleeson(Frank), Megan Burns(Hannah) and Christopher Ecclestone(Major Henry). All the tense atmosphere created could have gone for waste even if one of them had ruined their part. But these esteemed actors just nail it perfectly. As for more than two hours we are glued to their lives. Praying all goes well. But we soon realize that its not gonna happen. And as the character get shocked we do too. As they cry. We drop a tear or two. And that involvement is so rare to see in most horror movies. And sometimes its the bad acting which can ruin the greatest of plots. Especially in horror. But thankfully this doesn't boast of such a misdemeanor and we invest ourselves totally. Even if the third act doesn't cut it out as much with me. But acting is top notch.


Cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle is pretty amazing. What he captures is some frames which may never be captured as scarily again. And he is working with Danny since in all his movies. Not much surprise there. As also the pacy editing and nice background music which ups the ante and sometimes gives scenes poetical connotation. And the special effects are pretty nice as well. A great package.


HighTension Verdict: Zombie movies have been around since the 60's. But there are just handful of masterpieces and mostly belonged to a certain George Romero. But after this Danny Boyle joins the club. A master film maker which makes me us believe that zombies can spring up even in England. And for me who can associate only football with Manchester, this comes across as more shocking. Wtf must have happened at the Manchester Football Club? Did Alex Ferguson die? Now go figure that.... 


HighTension Verdict: 9/10


Best QUOTE:

Major Henry West: This is what I've seen in the four weeks since infection. People killing people. Which is much what I saw in the four weeks before infection, and the four weeks before that, and before that, and as far back as I care to remember. People killing people. Which to my mind, puts us in a state of normality right now.