28 Days Later (2002)

"Plans are pointless. Staying alive's as good as it gets."

plot: Upon waking from a month-long hospital stay, Jim (Cilian Murphy) finds an abandoned England and precious little answers, until he runs into survivors, soldiers, and infected humans who want to kill everything still alive.

I bought 28 Days Later a two or three years ago during a holiday sale at a BYE at the mall. It was reasonably priced, I had heard good things, so I picked it up and said "why not?" The DVD then proceeded to exist, unwatched, until yesterday and today.

I can't really explain why I never watched it before. I know I missed the zeitgeist when it came out eight years ago. I think 28 Days Later is what helped propel the new zombie meme that's absolutely everywhere nowadays. What was once the domain of a few nerdy horror fans is thrust firmly into the hipster mainstream. You can now play zombie games on your iPhone while reading zombie comic books and standing in line for zombie comedies and checking out zombie survival guides at the library. Zombies have never been hotter. 28 Days Later opened the door for Dawn Of The Dead, Resident Evil, Zombieland, etc. It also introduced the concept of fast zombies, which despite what those previously mentioned nerdy horror purists might say, do indeed make the creatures scarier. I mean, really. Zombies are like mummies... you just outrun them!

But what did I think of the film? It was okay, I guess. I think I definitely missed out by watching it after Dawn Of The Dead, etc. A lot of the novelty had worn off and a lot of the plot twists had been intercepted by my ears. I knew that the soldiers that rescued them only did so for the value of the women, I knew Frank would get infected blood in his eye, I knew the real ending had Jim dying in a hospital bed, so with the plot largely known to me I just had to concentrate on the technique.

I am a fan of Danny Boyle. I think he's kind of like an English Richard Linklater in that he moves effortlessly from genre to genre and seems to excel at all of them. I think Boyle's probably a better director as well. I like that he used digital video in this, and bear in mind this is digital video from 2002 so the technology isn't even up-to-date by today's standards. The scenes of Jim's attack on the military camp have this weird effect of looking like a big-budget student/home movie where no expense was spared, but for the camera and film. That's not coming across as positive, but it is really unique. It's meant to be positive, I swear.

The film also differs from the majority of zombie movies in that it doesn't really dwell on the end-of-the-world or apocalypse. It's treated as something isolated that only happens in one country, or this could just be my bias in a) knowing that from the sequel and the scene where Jim spots a plane and b) not being native to England so it was easy to disassociate myself. A lot of zombie movies (coughGeorgeRomerocough) focus on the "we have met the enemy and he is us" spin, the irony of humanity being humanity's worst enemy in a world with flesh-eating monsters, etc. So it was interesting to see a more intimate, character-based drama, really. I read on Wikipedia (where everyone should do their research, natch) that Boyle saw this not as a science-fiction/horror movie but a drama set in that world, and I totally see that. I do sort of miss the epic sweep of the typical zombie movie, as I think what largely makes them effective is the poignancy of seeing recognizable areas deserted or overrun with dead and creatures, and you don't get all that much here, despite the scenes with Jim walking around an empty London. Zombies have somehow become the "realistic" doomsday scenario, or monster. One of the most chilling scenes comes from the news footage from the opening of Dawn Of The Dead against Johnny Cash's "When The Man Comes Around." It felt real.

And look, I know everyone might say that this isn't a zombie movie, and that the filmmakers distanced themselves from calling it that... but it is. Of course it is. A group of mindless humans bent solely on spreading their disease and killing? That's a zombie.

Overall, I enjoyed it, although I admittedly had to split it between two viewings. I am a fan of Boyle and Murphy, and I was not disappointed. Was it my favorite doomsday or zombie movie? No, but it was entertaining and well worth whatever I ended up paying for it.

Plus, now when someone asks if I've seen what the Scarecrow's weenie looks like, I don't have to lie!