28 Days Later is one of my favorite horror movies, hell, one of my all time favorite movies. In a time of remakes (reboots, re-imaginings, whatever the studio’s now disguise them as) and recycled hash this film truly stands out. Everything about it is just superb, and I honestly can’t think of a single aspect that I didn’t like. I know that everyone has been raving about Slumdog Millionaire being the pinnacle of Danny Boyle’s career, but I think 28 is far superior.
The cinematography is absolutely amazing. The fact that this was shot on digital video (on a mini DV no less!) helps to give it a really gritty, raw feeling and style that I haven’t seen in a movie since Romero’s Dawn of the Dead from ’78. Just about every shot is a little piece of art, especially towards the beginning where Jim is strolling around a deserted London. The saturated colors look beautiful, especially the woods where Jim is supposedly executed. It may just be me, but I love the bright greens bleeding into one another. I love how they used the shutter speed, and my love for it orgasms when Jim is cranking the siren in and the rain is falling around him. I first saw this movie in high school on opening night and at the time I had no idea who Cillian Murhy was, so the cast was completely unknown to me. Once again the digital video helps to create a rather documentary-style, character driven story of four people roaming around England in search of safety and answers (the second one remaining mostly ambiguous to the characters). The unknown faces from the cast helped to make it seem even more real.
The musical score by John Murphy is eerie, and I love the snippets from Godspeed! You Black Emperor’s East Hastings used towards the beginning, once again, as Jim is strolling around the desolate city. That song (other than being created by an amazing musical group) has one of the best buildups I have ever heard. The use of Grandaddy in the supermarket is also a nice treat.
Everything else is solid gold. The editing is slick (although you can spot some digital compositing here and there). The shots from the derelict London will remain in my head forever and are truly inspiring. The moral dilemma our group of survivors face when they enter the military base raises many questions for debate, especially since they spent the entire course of the film looking for other survivors, only to regret that they ever met them. A vintage horror classic.