Zombies, infected, walkers and crazies: whatever you want to call them, there’s no doubt moviegoers have been obsessed with the shambling dead since George A Romero revolutionised the idea with Night of the Living Dead.
There’s been plenty of interactions on Romero’s formula- take The Last of Us’s fungal zombies as opposed to the usual infected. But no other piece of media has built on Romero’s foundations quite like Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Days Later.
28 Days Later follows Jim (Cillian Murphy) as he wakes up in hospital 28 days after a violent infection has decimated the UK. He finds himself entangled in the lives of other survivors searching for hope at the end of the world.
If you live in the UK, then you’ve definitely seen or at least heard of the film. The iconic blood red poster with violent yellow eyes staring straight into your soul- eyes that are void of every emotion, other than Rage.
Rage is apt name for the infection as it spreads rapidly, filling those affected by it with an unrelenting blood lust that is only quelled by murder and violence.
It’s a scary concept but it’s nothing new for the horror genre. What really sets 28 Days apart is one simple change to the zombie formula – speed.
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Unlike Romero’s lumbering dead or The Walking Dead’s slow Walkers, 28 Days Later sees the infected sprint and chase. Though simple, the change elevates the film to a whole new level of horror.
28 Days Later is a bit more than just a horror film though due to Boyle and Garland’s heavy use of social commentary. The film was partially made in response to a growing outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease in the UK, as well as growing civil unrest during the years Tony Blair was in office.
The Rage infection was a reflection on the political state of the UK taken to harrowing extremes. Zombie films before 28 Days, especially those made by Romero, usually tackled political and social issues through the lense of the dead, but Boyle and Garland’s take remains fresh and modern even over two decades later.
Unfortunately, 28 Days Later went on to inspire many other competitors that failed to innovate. Instead they took the idea of fast moving zombies and left the meaning behind that change in the dirt. The most famous rip-off comes in the form of World War Z, a zombie film devoid of meaning that relishes in pointless action and painfully dull performances.
There’s plenty of pieces of media that ripped the idea right out of 28 Days Later. Even the beginning of The Walking Dead is stolen from 28 Days Later. Audiences were obsessed with zombies for over a decade after Boyle and Garland changed the landscape of horror. Their seemingly inconsequential, unapologetically British take on zombies went on to inspire the zombie craze that led to remakes of Romero’s Dead trilogy, Zombieland and many of the other aforementioned pieces of media.
Just as Alien had done for the sci-fi/horror genre in 1979, 28 Days Later was able to resurrect an idea long thought dead and bring it back to scare everyone. It remains an all time classic for a reason- it’s hard to think of anything scarier happening in real life.
Boyle and Garland have re-united to produce a sequel entitled 28 Years Later. The sequel is set to release this week and with all of the promotional material released so far, the film looks like another classic for the duo.
Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Fourth year Film and Journalism student
Deputy editor
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