28 DAYS LATER... (2002) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Danny Boyle

Written by - Alex Garland

Starring - Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Naomie Harris

"Ingenious and intuitive film by Danny Boyle, always reluctant to name it a zombie flick per se, but almost naturally a classic of this particular genre. 

28 Days Later… is the story of a bicycle messenger who wakes up from an accident only to find that he is one of the only survivors in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. His gradual awakening to this worrying situation is intensified by the imagery of a deserted London, quite a rare sight. 

The film was shot for what is, for the genre, quite a minimal budget, and makes full use of any ingenious makeshift techniques to achieve a remarkable blend of arthouse with commercial. The light glares of the morning sun, the action sequences and the impressive suspenseful atmosphere build up are raw and legitimately thrilling. 

Cillian Murphy in the leading role plays an ideal lost soul and an antihero and even the small subplots don’t slow down the pace of the film but enrich it and allow a bigger dramatic depth, further distancing it from the traditional perceptions of this particular living dead subgenre. 

It is perhaps for this reason that Danny Boyle is always quick to distance it from the word zombie, but one thing is for sure – 28 Days Later… is impressive, influential and organic."

Horror, UK