Review of "28 Days Later" -- Rhinotainment

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Three activists learn that a scientist has monkeys quarantined in his lab with the intent to infect them with a virus that could manipulate and destroy mankind. They storm the lab, armed, in hopes of freeing the monkeys and saving life as we know it. The scientists walks in on them before they can free the monkeys. He informs them that it's too late. The monkeys are already infected and they are severly contagious. Stubbornly, one of the activists frees a monkey. The primate immediately attacks her and within seconds, she is infected, and soon, so will the entire world. This is the story of 28 Days Later.

28 days later, Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakes in a hospital after slipping into a coma after brain surgery. He finds his room empty, as well as the entire hospital. The place has been trashed. As he stumbles out of the hospital, he finds that they entire town of London, England, is vacant and wrecked, as if someone turned the town upside down and shook it. This image is shocking as the director (Danny Boyle, Trainspotting) somehow managed to empty out London...for real! There isn't a soul in sight. It's surreal. Jim sees the headline of a newspaper that reads "EVACUATION". He continues to try and piece together what is going on. He enters a temple only to find stacks and stacks of human bodies that died trying to find salvation before their deaths.

He calls out for survivors. A few heads poke up from the bodies, but their wild eyes faces hint that something may not be right about them. The priest enters the room, spitting and frothing, eyes red and demon-like. He has ill intent on his mind and it become apparent to Jim that his life is in danger. He flees the church with the infected people chasing him. Coming to his rescue are Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley) who are armed with riot gear and they quickly destroy the infected and bring Jim to a safe haven. They explain to Jim that the virus that the monkeys were infected with is called RAGE. It turns humans into rabid, animalistic zombies who can survive only on human flesh. If the zombies blood or saliva makes its way into your bloodstream, you are infected and will become one of them momentarily.

Soon, Mark gets infected and is subsequently beaten to death by Selena. Jim and Selena then head back out into the dangerous city and end up coming in contact with two more humans, a father and daughter named Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns). Frank learns of a military checkpoint where all the non-infected are urged to meet. But they will soon find out that they may be no safer there than they would be out in the open...and the zombies are not their problem.

I really enjoyed this film. Anything is a nice change compared to some of the dreck passing as horror films lately, such as Wrong Turn. 28 Days Later is a smart, chilling twist on the zombie films of the past. Typically, zombies are seen as knuckledraggers, slow and unorthodox, as if they were permanently stoned. Not these zombies. RAGE has turned them into a human version of a rabid baboon. Quick and athletic, strong and deliberate, they are forces to be reckoned with. The sight of the infected is a sickening one. Red eyed, blood vomitting pit bulls is what they reminded me of. The film was shot on digital cameras and if you are familiar with this type of technology, you know that quick movements that are captured come of as looking choppy like there is a strobe light flashing on top of the camera. This made the movements of the infected look that much more creepy. It's truly an original take on the zombie characters.

As for the film, the digital print gave the film kind of a murky, dense look that was well suited. This was no Technicolor extravaganza. The film called for a dismal, lonely setting and the digital print was perfect in capturing that very feel. The acting was good to very good. Cillian Murphy does a fine job and is believable as a man who has to deal with the fact that the world has practically ended and he slept right through it. There is a particular scene in which Jim returns home to find that his parents have committed suicide and left a picture of him with a beautiful message printed on the back as their suicide note. It's a very moving scene, one which has been missing in the horror genre. Murphy's emotional breakdown and scenes involving him daydreaming about his parents are well done and moving as well. Naomie Harris may be the weak link in the film, as her character is the stereotypical tough girl, much like Linda Hamilton's character in Terminator 2. Sometimes she excels, but most of the time, she is just a stock horror film character. Megan Burns plays the already lonely, heartbroken daughter of Frank who is having a hard time coming to grips with the world as she sees it. You get the feeling that she would almost rather die than continue, though Frank's wisdom and strength pushes her to keep going. She reminds me of Anna Paquin and that's a good thing. But the scene stealer of the film is Brendan Gleeson. Gleeson is a great character actor who has had memorable roles in films like Braveheart and Gangs of New York. His work here is nothing short of excellent as a father desperate to keep his young daughter alive and stay emotionally stable after losing his wife to the infected. Gleeson is one of Hollywood's best kept secrets. Boyle's direction is brilliant. He keeps it stylish but doesn't let the style overcome the film like it did with Trainspotting. He keeps a tight grip on the story and let's the style creep in where applicable. Good work.

This is a good time at the movies. It can get a little slow in parts, but I urge you to have patience because the payoffs are huge. The thought of Armageddon is not a pleasant one, and the picture painted here is a bleak one. But with there is always a glimmer of hope with this film and it's worth waiting around to see if the hope will manifest. Good stuff.

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