28 Days Later was a film I had heard about, but never got around to watching until a couple of weeks ago. Released in 2003, it follows Cillian Murphy's Jim, a man who wakes up in a hospital in London, only to find nobody in the building, and the typically bustling streets completely abandoned. That is, of course, because an infectious Rage Virus was released 28 days earlier, turning those who come into contact with the bodily fluids of the infected into violent, thoughtless killing machines. With a tender yet fragile relationship with the survivors he had encountered, will Jim find safety in the ruins of civilisation, and what boundaries would he be willing to cross in order to do so?
For me, this film represents the definitive lifespan of a zombie apocalypse - putting into perspective just how quickly a country like the UK could fall, and the utter state of mankind's depravity in just one month from normality. However, it also offers hope - the ingenuity that a few good people could employ to keep themselves alive, and the kindness they can show to others in spite of all that had happened. As a result, this film portrays not just the battle against zombies, but against hopelessness, with each death or setback threatening to overwhelm the survivors just as much as the thousands of infected.
Nothing shows this as brilliantly as the beginning of the film when Jim is walking through an abandoned London, seeing dozens of British souvenirs, missing posters and Memorials across the streets and walls, heavy, foreboding music growing louder and clouds rolling in, darkening the sky. No opening to a zombie film has been better than this one scene, which immediately cements the film as a classic. The grainy, low quality cameras used for the film also serve to make the events of the film appear authentic and grounded in spite of the zombie outbreak, helping to immerse the audience.
I find the early 2000's England setting particularly nostalgic, growing up with shows like Primeval and Doctor Who, and this film employs a similar style, albeit combined with an apocalyptic atmosphere that shows an England brought to its knees, ravaged by violence and disease. That being said, the film uses these little English colloquialisms and behaviours that inject a bit of much needed levity into an otherwise bleak story, serving both as a bit of dark humour, and showing how the protagonists try desperately to hold onto the old world that had already died.
This is a much earlier role for Cillian Murphy, but there is definitely something special in it. Jim is quite reserved emotionally, but his moments of growing desperation and anger when he is backed into corner after corner makes the backbone of the story's tension, asking not just if he will survive, but if he will lose himself trying to do so, becoming cold and ruthless, or just as wild and savage as the infected.
The rest of the cast is great as well, with Naomie Harris, Brendon Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston all giving great performances and bringing a professionalism to a genre that, depending on how it is handled, can otherwise be superficial and silly. The film is also relatively light on zombie action, focusing more on the effects the collapse of society have on the small pockets of survivors, only bringing the infected into it when necessary, letting the acting shine above spectacle, a fitting choice considering the talent behind it.
All in all, this film is terrific, striking the perfect balance between superb camerawork, apocalyptic visuals, masterful acting and inspired story, this is a British classic - rough around the edges, yes, but only in a way that that makes it all the more captivating. I'd give it a 9.5 out of 10.
9.5 OUT OF 10
SPOILER SECTION
I found the very start to be a little jarring - animal rights activists storming a building, only to free the infected chimps and spread the virus. For one, the scientist could have been more specific on what they were infected with (rather than just cryptically saying "rage"), and there should have been security in the facility that would prevent the virus from spreading beyond it if the nature of the research was that important. However, I do think it's a little funny in a dark sort of way.
After the opening credits, a situation familiar to anyone who has seen the pilot episode of The Walking Dead plays out - Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital in Central London. The idea of the world ending twenty years ago is a harrowing one, sold by the powerful music, hitting home to me more than any other film how scary end of humanity would be.
When Jim and Selina meet Frank and Hannah, hope is once again restored - two people unsullied by the fall of the Britain, allowing Jim to keep his hope following the death of Mark and the discovery of Jim's dead parents. It's this that makes me view the film as a battle against despair as much as a survival story, with each new encounter mending or damaging it - waking up to the horror of the Rage Virus, finding Selina and Mark, Mark's death, meeting Frank and Hannah,, Jim's first kill, finding the outpost abandoned and Frank's death, it goes on - just when Jim finds a sense of safety and belonging, it either gets snatched away from him, or revealed to be another danger.
When we are introduced to the soldiers led by Christopher Eccleston's Henry West, a bittersweet hope is established - although Frank's accidental death dealt a huge blow to Jim, Selina and Hannah, their objective to reach them is a success, with a reasonable standard of living and armed protection. And, that hope is broken once again in one devastating line: "I promised them women".
This is the point where the story turns - no longer is Jim led from place to place in the hope of salvation, he becomes it, taking advantage of the infected and his desperation to kill the soldiers one by one and rescue Selina and Hannah. By the end, he resembles one of the infected, adopting the same force that the world to tear down the ones who would harm his friends. Symbolically, it is a brilliant way to round off the film and Jim's character.
The film ends with another time skip of 28 days, showing the infected dying of starvation - just as it took 28 days for the virus to destroy the UK, it took only another 28 days for it to be effectively destroyed itself, and for Jim to return to civilisation - a perfect way to round off the film.
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