200th Review 28 Days Later

 

        200 reviews, I can’t even believe it. It’s one thing to do this as a side, and to eloquently explain why a film works. My way of talking film has been a work in progress, at least trying explain through text as to what makes any film great and vice versa. A real tough ordeal since it’s a medium that needs a lot of visual help to show something significant. With that, I love sharing what I know and to expose people to movies from the past and seeing just how much has come in this medium. I feel that this endeavor adds to the ever-growing discussion of any movie. Instead of just saying it’s good and leave it to that. Regardless, here’s what I think with 28 Days Later. 

1. Making Zombies Cool Again

        Believe it or not, this is the first horror movie that I watched. Of all places, I was in San Antonio at my uncle’s house and he popped in the movie. Obviously, I wasn’t ready for what the whole film was going to be about. The thing that set my heart racing was the opening. It kick things off in terms of literally triggering what’s going on. 

        To give you guys a brief rundown, between the 80s and the 2000s, there wasn’t much for Zombies. It seemed that the sub-genre was dead, no pun intended, George Romero seemingly finished his trilogy of Dead movies. So, it was only natural that a new director would try something new to revitalize a sub-genre. Mostly, with any zombie movie, they rise from the dead and that’s usually about it. In this movie, it’s a bit different. This would be the second Danny Boyle movie that I talked about. The first being Steve Jobs from last year. From what I got in his movies is that he’s very kinetic with the story and the action always going on. It doesn’t feel convoluted or too fast, but quick enough to get to the point.  

        With that, the movie hits too close for home. A trio of pro-animal rights activists attempt to rescue chimps from being tested. Unbeknownst to them is that they were experimented on with a virus that was meant to end violence. Dubbed the Rage virus, one chimp attacks and inadvertently spreads the plague. We follow a patient named Jim, who wakes from a coma and realizes that the whole world changed. 

        From then on, he meets other survivors and try find refuge. The whole movie works on so many levels, I’m going to talk about some of them. The various shots of an empty London are impactful. You get to see just how much it feels eerie, no one’s there except the main guy. And I’m glad that it didn’t have zombies just roaming around. It keeps the tension in the film high, even when the characters are comfortable. One motif is those long shots when Jim looks small, I think it can be said that it’s the zombies that are looking at him.

        And that’s where the film works, it employs the Jaws way of making horror. We get very a limited amount of time of seeing the undead. When they show up, they amp up the tension since they can run. Sprinting is the thing that makes them formidable and the best scene that shows this is when the main cast is in a tunnel. They’re replacing a flat tire, and they can hear them. It’s Jaws-esque in a way where we don’t know when they’ll pop out. Not even a music cue for us when they show up. 

        Lastly, we see just how much devastation happens in a unique way. Buildings aren't in ruin, or any cars that are burnt that you might find in a post apocalyptic movie. What the film shows is an aftermath when society goes down. It's everyone looking out only after themselves in order to survive. Taking matters into their own hands when someone gets infected, and trying to gain their composure with something as desperate as that. 

2. Dehumanization

        Since the dead are robbed of any humanity, the same can be said for the survivors. Well specifically, Jim is the one to maintain his humanity but ultimately becomes the reluctant hero when he must rescue the other survivors. This bit of character development makes it way when Selena chastises him of not being the one to act. In one way, I didn’t expect Jim to become a super sleuth and set up the enemies to die from the Dead. He's active and tries to hide and almost acts like a dead person.

        This is the other theme about the film. As I mentioned earlier, it clashes with the survivors staying alive since they must look after themselves. The moment one of them gets infected, they drop any pretenses and choose to die. Those moments show us that anything can happen, and I was shocked when one of them gets infected since the character was a good father. It’s rather effective since we get to spend time with good characters, and it adds a shocked feeling. 

        I really don’t want to spoil this movie further since there’s another subplot when the survivors find a radio broadcast involving the military. Well, just to sprinkle in some sparse detail is that they aren’t what they seem. They have an ulterior motive that portrays them as dehumanizing. Hell, one of them wears a feminine apron when he’s cooking. 

        The only people that don't lose their humanity is when there's another character in jeopardy. With Jim making a daring rescue, Selena doesn't obey what the villains want her to do. While she makes some bold choices, she never loses her sanity but tries to remain composed. It shows us that the humans too can be as dehumanizing as the zombies. 

3. Overall

        28 Days Later is one of the best films of horror from the 2000s. It breath life to a seemingly gone genre where it reintroduced the dead to the pop culture once again.