Tuesday 2 July 2013

A Love Letter to 28 Days Later


This film, in my opinion, is not only the greatest zombie movie of all time, but one of the greatest films ever. I think it’s terrifying and raw without giving over to the cheesier aspects of the genre. 

The Infected
Are they zombies? I think anything that’s part of a hive mind hell bent on the destruction of anything living could either be called Monsanto directors, or zombies. I think the zombies in 28 days later care too much for others to be Monsanto directors, so I’m sticking with zombies. 


Opening Scene
The opening scene is so good in this film that Robert Kirkman totally ripped it off in The Walking Dead. We see Jim wake up in hospital after a bike accident in London. He doesn’t know what’s happening and neither do we. It’s the perfect character and scenario to understand the world through - Show don’t tell. We see him walking over London Bridge and through the city of London when it’s deserted. That in itself is especially haunting. He heads to a church and that’s when he finds out that something isn’t quite right. 


Compared to Other Zombie Movies
One of the big differences between this movie and most zombie movies is the amount of infected on screen. There are very few scenes where the infected are present en masse. For me, this makes the film much scarier. I desensitise very quickly with other zombie movies purely because of the sheer amount on the screen. In 28 Days Later, they are used sparingly and oftentimes it’s the threat of them that creates the tension. I think films like Dawn of the Dead are great, but less horrific.

Conclusion
28 Days Later is a combination of great pace, acting, suspense, gore, and terror. Lets hope Danny Boyle comes back for 28 Months Later. Here’s an alternative ending for the film:


Do you have a favourite zombie movie?


Michael Robertson (author of Crash)


   

No comments:

Post a Comment