Together, 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later form my favorite zombie experience in cinema. The two movies feel very different but offer such a unique experience in the genre that is, in my not-very-humble opinion, the most terrifying zombie story of all. I watched 28 Days Later, and while I am not planning to do a piece on the sequel this year, know that this movie is best experienced joined by 28 Weeks Later in quick succession.
I love this movie because it just absolutely shatters all the rules about zombie movies. Instead of a scientific accident or virus that brings about the apocalypse out of nowhere or from some insidious organization, the rage virus in 28 Days Later comes about from animal activists freeing infected monkeys from animal trials. I am not even going to attempt to get into the ethical mudpit that is animal testing here, but I love that opening. Two sides of humanity–the activists who believe in their cause to stop animal suffering and the scientists who believe the ends justify the means for furthering scientific endeavors–bring about the end of the world from a clashing of two competing philosophies that both believe they’re in the right. Next, the zombies. The rage virus essentially works as one would think from its name: the infected have super amped-up sympathetic nervous systems as if in a perpetual state of rage; they run faster, hit harder, and still maintain some semblance of intelligence as they hunt in packs and trick their human prey. So no shambling, idiotic hordes of zombies to be found here; 28 Days Later and its sequel offer some of the most terrifying, adrenaline-filled zombie sequences that really portray the monsters as active predators rather than an amorphous threat. 28 Days Later also offers a good balance of bleakness with wholesome scenes that portray the best of humanity in the ongoing tragedy, helping you really relate to the characters more. And finally, I love 28 Days Later because it breaks another unwritten rule of zombie movies: it totally breaks theme and genre. Without spoiling anything, let me ask you if the idea of a tense zombie movie turning into a John Wick-esque revenge plot sounds cool to you. If it does, then 28 Days later is right for you.
While so many of these elements lend itself to a unique experience, let me say that time has not been overly kind to 28 Days Later. The grainy, cut-heavy cinematography is hard to watch sometimes, and it definitely “feels” like a movie from the early 2000s. If you don’t like movies that take some artistic liberties with their presentation, you may benefit from skipping straight to 28 Weeks Later, a sequel that is just as good and that has aged much better than its predecessor.
Zombie Rating: 28 Days Later is honestly as good as zombies get. Though not traditional zombies (see my Night of the Living Dead article for what that means), they break so many of the rules that they prove to be the most terrifying version of the monster that cinema has given us. 5 crazy monkey amygdalae out of 5.
