Film Review: 28 Days Later by Sophia Cynthia Cabral

28 Days Later

Drama, Horror

Release date: November 1, 2002

Director: Danny Boyle

Companies involved: DNA Films, UK Film Council

Produced by: Robert How as line producer, Andrew Macdonald as producer

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson, Ricci Harnett, Stuart McQuarrie, Noah Huntley

Plot: A group of animal rights activists break into a lab and release monkeys from their cages to rescue them, despite warnings from a scientist that the monkeys are contagious.

As a result of the animal rights activists' actions, a virus that the monkeys had contained rapidly spread across Great Britain and infects numerous people. Jim, who fell into a coma following a bicycle accident shortly before the virus was released, emerges from his coma and finds that London is deserted. He realizes that he is not alone, as within the city there are those that have been infected and those that have not. Jim manages to find more survivors and they head out to Manchester, where a group of British military personnel offer protection of any survivors from the infected. However, Jim and his colleagues have no idea what they're in for.

Review: The movie shows us that any unhealthy fanaticism towards whatever cause it is isn’t good. The foolishness of breaking free the monkeys and the infection afterwards is the proof.

In the movie you can appreciate the struggle of survival in a very hostile situation, the rage virus isn’t forgiving. It’s what I could call a perfect virus because it DOES NOT kill the host really but takes over, filling them with an out-of-this-world anger.

It’s a different take on zombies actually yes they eat your flesh but unlike others they don’t eat your brain nor are really zombies since technically they still are alive.

Hope, desperation, anger, loneliness and lack of mercy towards others.

Those feelings are explored on the film; some characters even represent them in my opinion.

It is a movie I liked watching and could actually relate to the characters, the acting is quite good, the suspense is done just right and the disgusting truth about the soldiers is well built-up, it’s a shame people resort to such measures regardless of circumstances.

There is a sequel for this movie, called 28 Months Later which is also quite good, a good movie that will keep you in suspense and eager to see what happens.

Sometimes the hope is indeed the last thing to be lost. -Sophia Cynthia Cabral