28 Days Later: Retro-View By Matt Boiselle

This latest installment of Retro-View is taking us back to the year 2002 (wow, I feel old), and the film on the slab today is one that frankly at the time, scared the Cheeze-Whiz outta me. Director Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic-vision piece, “28 Days Later” centers around a virtually empty Great Britain after a violence-inducing virus is accidentally leaked to the masses. This one’s got the bite, for sure – it’s not a zombie movie by any stretch of the imagination, and Boyle still stands by that claim, but it certainly acted as a renewal of sorts to a faltering sub-genre at the time.

When a group of eco-terrorists break into a secured lab after hours to free test animals, an infected chimp (affectionately hinged with the “Rage” virus), thanks his rescuers with an aggressive response, and before you know it the pathogen is wild and free. Spread through blood transmission, the after-effects are virtually instantaneous, turning normal everyday people into pissed off track-stars ready to rip & tear. Cillian Murphy plays Jim, a bike messenger who awakens from a coma after an accident to find the hospital he’s been in abandoned, and when he hits the streets for some semblance of information, that’s when the s**t hits the proverbial fan. Along Jim’s journey towards hopeful salvation he comes into contact with a woman (Naomie Harris) and a father & daughter (Brendon Gleeson & Megan Burns) – all trying to protect what they’ve got left in this diminishing society – survival horror at its apex.

With the possibility of a military base providing shelter to those looking for refuge, the pilgrimage begins…and far be it from me to ruin anything for people, not all is as what it appears to be here – lemme just put it down like that. Okay – that’s where I leave you all at the end of the plot expressway and divulge my innermost rambles about this production – first off, the atmosphere itself is staggering with the many vacated shots of the UK (crews worked tirelessly clearing streets & shooting before morning rushes to ensure openness). The infected people are simply the stuff of nightmares – with blood-filled eyes, a temper that could start its own fire and a running speed that could make any Olympic sprinter jealous, Boyle created an antagonist that you simply could not escape from.

Added to the above was an utterly amazing soundtrack which assisted the horrifying displays on-screen, and with an insanely successful run at the box office, a sequel was spawned (don’t worry – I’ll have you covered on that one as well), along with graphic novels & comic books to support the storyline further. At the end of the day, these “28 Days Later” even some 21 years later have proven to be one of the stronger horror films to shoot down the chute, and if you haven’t made the leap to eyeball this one, PLEASE stream it, shut the lights off and enjoy this from start to finish.

Author

Matt Boiselle

At the tender age of 6, Matt was indoctrinated into the horror genre by his mother, who asked him to sit down and watch "The Exorcist" with her - ever since then, it's been a blood-soaked, neon-lit, fever dream of an existence. "You don't make horror...horror makes you."

(Can't remember who came up with this quote, but he was probably off-kilter like I am).