28 Days Later
28 Days Later
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.
Razorbitz reviewedFebruary 22, 2025
Nothing has come close to 28 Days Later. With the legacy sequel on the horizon, I thought it would be good to revisit the original to see if my grandiose visions within my memory matched what Boyle and Co. accomplished. I can confirm that it was even better. It's been a few months but the red scrape it has left on my mind is as raw as it was when I first watched this film near 20 years ago for the first time. Any film that has come after that has tried to recapture the magic of 28 Days Later is just chasing a ragged shadow; while there are more technically impressive films, this is one of firsts and also of bests.
As a horror film, for anyone new to the genre this one may be too much, but for me it is what 28 Days doesn't show that makes the fear so much more tangible. It is a film of great silence and vicious sound. I have no technical knowledge for films but even in the moments of gore there is a distinct sense of absence in the framerate and in the various scenework that never fails to jar my mind awake with a primal panic as blood spurts forth from the enraged mouths. Nevermind a masterclass in performance by the then unknown Cillian Murphy, or the slimy acidic charisma of Christopher Eccleston later on--this film has no flaws that detract from the experience. For me, it is one of the few films that still conjures a tension because everyone in the film is doing their best in the worst case scenario. Even knowing their fates, I still wish for another reality for them. Sparse dialogue does not detract from the emotional weight of each character as they wrestle with the horrors and their own humanity.
I like 28 Weeks well enough, and hope 28 Years delivers, but this film stands alone. It has been a fascinatng thing watching the legacy of this film spin out of control in realtime and yet never lose its magic--at least for me. Don't miss this one.