28 Days Later

Synopsis
Danny Boyle (SHALLOW GRAVE, TRANSPOTTING) directs this post-apocalyptic thriller set in London after a deadly, Ebola-like virus has swept through the city. Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle messenger who was in an accident just days before the outbreak, is one of very few survivors who awakes 28 days later to a city that has been evacuated and is now utterly lifeless. He wanders the vacant streets of London feeling as if he's trapped in a never-ending hallucination. However, upon entering a church that is littered with dead bodies, he discovers that he is not alone--"the infected" are still living. They are violently sick, fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies who travel at night in ravenous packs. Jim manages to escape "the infected" and locate a band of survivors--Selena (Naomie Harris), Hannah (Megan Burns), and Frank (Brendan Gleeson)--and they join forces searching for solutions, clinging to hope that somewhere healthy humanity thrives.

A gripping and suspenseful horror film with indie production values, shot on digital video, 28 DAYS LATER has a pleasing immediacy. Its actors are primarily young unknowns, its special effects consist of beautiful photography overlays and flashes of light with lots of shadow play, and its settings are rich and dramatic. The soundtrack is one of the film's truest strengths, with excellent music from Brian Eno, Blue States, Grandaddy, and Godspeed You Black Emperor guiding the action from the first minutes through to the last.

Production Notes
After a month in U.S. theaters, on July 25, 2003, a new version of the film was put into circulation with a second ending. After the original ending a title reading, "But what if..." appeared onscreen with a 4-minute alternative finish.

Reviews
"...28 DAYS LATER is the genuine article, a hard-core horror picture from start to finish....This is a punk rock zombie movie..." (Premiere)

"When 28 DAYS LATER is not scaring you silly, it invites you to reflect seriously on the fragility of modern civilization....Mr. Boyle has hardly lost his sly, provocative perversity or his ear for the rhythms of unchecked violence..." (New York Times)

"...Wonderfully, horribly scary....Boyle knows that the world is an unbelievably terrifying place....He never takes us fully out of our reality -- he just throws open the door and watches us scramble..." (Los Angeles Times)

"...28 DAYS LATER is a swankily austere piece of jeepers creepers sci-fi....[A] stark and stylish apocalyptic horror film..." (Entertainment Weekly)

"...Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland plumb the violence of the mind with slashing wit and shocking gravity. Happy nightmares..." (Rolling Stone)

"...28 DAYS LATER is a provocative, scary thriller with timely overtones..." (Movieline's Hollywood Life)

"...Superior science fiction..." (Chicago Sun-Times)

"It simply scares us out of our wits, then gets us to apply those wits to an uncommonly intelligent and suspenseful zombie flick." (Wall Street Journal)