28 Days Later
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''28 Days Later'' (sometimes stylised with
ellipsis The ellipsis (, plural ellipses; from , , ), rendered , alternatively described as suspension points/dots, points/periods of ellipsis, or ellipsis points, or colloquially, dot-dot-dot,. According to Toner it is difficult to establish when t ...
as ''28 Days Later...'') is a 2002
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
directed by
Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...
and written by
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel '' The Beach'' (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films '' 28 Days Later'' (2002) and '' Sun ...
. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
to discover that the accidental release of a highly contagious, aggression-inducing
virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...
has caused the breakdown of society. Naomie Harris,
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson appear in supporting roles. Garland took inspiration from George A. Romero's ''Night of the Living Dead'' film series and
John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...
's 1951 novel '' The Day of the Triffids.'' Filming took place in various locations in the United Kingdom in 2001. The crew filmed for brief periods during early mornings and temporarily closed streets to capture recognisable and typically busy areas when they were deserted. John Murphy composed an original soundtrack for the film, with other instrumental songs by
Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
,
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock collective that originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation Records (Canada), Constellation, an in ...
, and other artists. ''28 Days Later'' was released on 1 November 2002 in the UK and 27 June 2003 in the US to generally positive reviews and commercial success. Grossing $84.6 million worldwide on a budget of $8 million, it became one of the most profitable horror films of 2002. Reviewers praised Boyle's direction, the cast's performances, Garland's screenplay, the atmosphere and soundtrack. Despite Boyle not considering it a zombie film, ''28 Days Later'' is credited with reinvigorating the genre and influencing a revival in it a decade after its release, with its fast-running infected and character-driven drama. It has been featured in several "best-of" film lists. The film's success launched its titular film series. The franchise also includes the graphic novel '' 28 Days Later: The Aftermath'' (2007), and the comic book series '' 28 Days Later'' (2009–2011).


Plot

A group of animal rights activists infiltrate a laboratory in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
which houses abnormally aggressive chimpanzees. One activist frees a chimpanzee despite being warned by a scientist that it is infected with a highly contagious virus; it attacks her, and within seconds of exposure, she succumbs to the virus. She immediately attacks the others. Soon, the virus spreads rapidly across
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, resulting in total
societal collapse Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an Complex adaptive system, adaptive system, the downf ...
. Twenty-eight days later, bicycle courier Jim, who had a traffic accident and fell into a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
before the outbreak, awakens in
St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to find it deserted. Leaving the hospital, Jim wanders the empty streets of London, discovers newspapers headlining a mass evacuation, and eventually enters a church which contains the aftermath of a massacre. Infected humans appear and chase after Jim, but he is rescued by survivors Selena and Mark, who take him to their refuge in a streetside shop. At Jim's request, the group travels on foot to his parents' house in
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
, where he learns that they committed suicide. When dusk settles in, the group decides to stay the night. Jim lights a candle, which attracts the infected as they break into the house. Mark is wounded while fending them off. Before the infection can take hold, Selena immediately kills him and tells Jim she is prepared to "kill him in a heartbeat". Spotting a makeshift signal from afar, Jim and Selena make their way up Balfron Tower. They encounter
cab driver A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
Frank and his young daughter Hannah in one of the flats. Frank plays them a military radio broadcast offering protection and a cure to the virus at a blockade outside
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. Frank plans to take Hannah to the blockade, and the four agree to travel together. The group reaches Manchester and finds the blockade deserted. Frank, frustrated, kicks a tall gate on which a dead body is balanced. A drop of blood from the corpse falls into Frank's eye, infecting him. As he warns the others, hidden soldiers appear and shoot him dead. The soldiers bring Jim, Selena, and Hannah to a heavily fortified mansion under the command of Major Henry West, and treat their guests to a tour and banquet. However, the sanctuary turns out to be a ruse; West reveals to Jim that his broadcast was intended to lure female survivors into
sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...
. Jim and Sergeant Farrell refuse to go along with this scheme, so West orders them to be shot. Two soldiers shoot Farrell and then argue, allowing Jim to escape. Jim sees a jet contrail in the sky, showing proof that the outside world is still active. After luring West away from the mansion with a siren and killing a soldier, he returns and frees Private Mailer, an infected soldier kept chained up for observation, to infect and kill the remaining soldiers. One, Corporal Mitchell, attempts to abduct Selena, but Jim kills him with such ferocity that Selena momentarily fears Jim must be infected, before kissing him, relieved. Jim, Selena, and Hannah attempt to escape in Frank's cab, but West, who has hidden in the back seat, shoots Jim in the stomach. Hannah retaliates by putting the cab in reverse, allowing Mailer to pull West through the rear window and kill him, and drives off. Another twenty-eight days later, Jim recovers at a remote cottage in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, where the infected are shown lying on the roads, dying of starvation. As a
Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...
jet flies overhead, Jim, Selena, and Hannah unfurl a huge cloth banner spelling the word "HELLO". The three survivors wave at the jet, and wonder among themselves if the pilot had spotted them.


Cast

* Cillian Murphy as Jim, a bicycle courier who was previously in a coma * Naomie Harris as Selena, a chemist and battle-hardened survivor * Brendan Gleeson as Frank, a taxi driver * Megan Burns as Hannah, Frank's young daughter *
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
as Major Henry West, the leader of a group of renegade soldiers outside Manchester * Noah Huntley as Mark, a survivor and Selena's partner * Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant Farrell, the only one of the renegade soldiers to oppose West * Ricci Harnett as Corporal Mitchell, a renegade soldier * Leo Bill as Private Jones, a renegade soldier * Luke Mably as Private Clifton, a renegade soldier * Junior Laniyan as Private Bell, a renegade soldier * Ray Panthaki as Private Bedford, a renegade soldier * Sanjay Rambaruth as Private Davis, a renegade soldier * Marvin Campbell as Private Mailer, an infected soldier held captive Additionally, Alex Palmer, Bindu De Stoppani, and Jukka Hiltunen portray the animal liberation activists, while David Schneider portrays a scientist at the laboratory. Christopher Dunne and Emma Hitching appear as Jim's parents. Toby Sedgwick plays an infected priest encountered by Jim.


Production


Development

Early influences on writer
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel '' The Beach'' (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films '' 28 Days Later'' (2002) and '' Sun ...
included the George A. Romero films ''
Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...
'' (1968) and '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), which he loved as a child. Garland claimed to have largely forgotten about the zombie genre until he played the video game ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (1996), which reminded him how much he loved zombies after "having not really encountered zombies for quite a while". Director
Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...
liked Garland's screenplay for a proposed zombie film, having directed the 2000 film adaptation of Garland's novel '' The Beach''. Producer Andrew Macdonald had access to funding from the National Lottery, and pitched it to
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
, who declined to support it. Budget constraints proved to be an issue, with
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
having to take an emergency pay cut. On the DVD commentary, Boyle and Garland frequently call the film
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
and a
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
, commenting on scenes that quote from Romero's ''Dead'' trilogy. During the initial marketing of the film, Boyle tried to distance the film from such labels. Boyle identified
John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...
's 1951 novel '' The Day of the Triffids'' as Garland's original inspiration for the story. Five months after the film was released in Europe, video game publisher
NovaLogic NovaLogic, Inc. was an American software developer and publisher established in 1985 and based in Calabasas, California. The company was founded by CEO John A. Garcia. Garcia's background in computer software started in Southern California in th ...
hosted a
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
competition in a cross-promotion with the game '' Devastation''. The connection was owed mainly to the similar theme of a devastated world. The prizes consisted of signed screenplay copies and posters along with DVDs. For the Infected, Boyle took inspiration from real-life diseases, particularly
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
, with aspects of
rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...
.


Casting

On the DVD commentary, Boyle explains that with the aim of preserving the
suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe i ...
, relatively unknown actors were cast in the film. Cillian Murphy had starred primarily in small independent films, while Naomie Harris had acted on British television as a child, and Megan Burns had only one previous film credit. However, Christopher Eccleston and Brendan Gleeson were well-known
character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
s. Cillian Murphy originally auditioned for the role with a Standard Southern British accent, as Jim was written to be English. However, during film, Boyle and Murphy decided to revert to the actor's natural accent, and rewrote the character as Irish. James McAvoy auditioned for a role as an Infected.


Filming

The film features scenes set in normally bustling parts of London, such as Westminster Bridge,
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
,
Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...
and
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
. To depict these locations as desolate, the film crew closed off sections of street for minutes at a time, usually on Sunday mornings. They typically had around 45 minutes after dawn to shoot the locations devoid of members of the public and traffic. Portions of the film were shot on a Canon XL1
digital video Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...
(DV) camera, which was smaller and more manoeuvrable than traditional film cameras, which would have been impractical on such brief shoots. The scenes of the empty
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
were also filmed within limited periods, during which a mobile police roadblock slowed traffic sufficiently to leave a long section of carriageway empty. The section of the motorway depicted runs near
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
, Buckinghamshire, around 150 miles southeast of Manchester. For the London scene in which Jim walks by an overturned
double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...
, the film crew placed the bus on its side and removed it when the shot was finished, all within 20 minutes. The crew had asked
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...
for permission to place the bus outside
Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
, which was denied; when they arrived there at 4am and nobody from the council was present, they placed the bus there anyway. The
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
took place during filming. Boyle notes the parallel between the "missing persons" flyers seen at the beginning of the film and similar flyers posted in New York City in the wake of the attacks. Boyle said his crew probably would not have been granted permission to close off
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
for filming after the terrorist attacks. The mansion used in the film was Trafalgar Park near
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
. Many rooms, including the Cipriani-painted music room and the main hall, were filmed with minimal set decoration. The scenes set upstairs were filmed downstairs, as the mansion's owner resided upstairs. The old ruins used as the setting for an idyllic interlude in their journey to Manchester were those of Waverley Abbey, Surrey. The end scenes of the film with Jim, Selena and Hannah living in a rural cottage were filmed around Ennerdale in Cumbria. The production team hired an
optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...
to supervise with the red
contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...
es needed for cast members playing the infected. At a certain point, Macdonald announced to the crew that the production had run out of money, and filming ceased without a satisfactory closing sequence having been shot. After several different pitches for a new ending, with the original ending which featured Jim's death having tested badly with audiences, the studio granted more funding to shoot the ending eventually used. The crew arranged for a real jet to fly overhead for them to film, as this was cheaper than approximately £70,000 for a computer-generated one.


Alternative endings

The DVD extras include three alternative endings, all of which conclude with Jim dying. One of these was filmed, which involved Jim dying of his gunshot wounds. In another, Jim dreams of the accident that left him in a coma as he dies from his gunshot wounds. The third, a more radical departure, was presented only in
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s; instead of Frank being killed by soldiers after being infected, the other survivors tie him up and discover a research laboratory at the blockade, where Jim undergoes a
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...
in order to save Frank. The US cinematic release included one of the alternative endings after the film's credits in response to intense online debates over whether or not it was a more appropriate conclusion than the official ending.


Music

The film's score was composed by John Murphy, featuring
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
and atmospheric electronic production. It also features tracks from
Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
,
Grandaddy Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California, Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a ...
and Blue States, and was released in a combined score and song compilation in 2003. A heavily edited version of the track " East Hastings" by the
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
band
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock collective that originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation Records (Canada), Constellation, an in ...
appears in the film, but the track is excluded from the soundtrack, because Boyle could only obtain the rights to use it in the film. ''28 Days Later: The Soundtrack Album'' was released on 17 June 2003. A modified version of the track "In The House – In A Heartbeat" was used as the character Big Daddy's theme in the 2010 film '' Kick-Ass''. The same song was played in the 2012 advertisement campaign of
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
, "L'Invitation au voyage". In 2019, the song was remixed to include the theme of ''
The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...
'' by Brad Fiedel for the second trailer of '' Terminator: Dark Fate,'' and also eventually again remixed and used in the 2019 video game '' Metro Exodus''.


Reception


Box office

''28 Days Later'' was a considerable success at the box office and became highly profitable on a budget of about £5 million. In the UK, it took in £6.1 million, while in the US, it became a surprise hit, taking over $45 million despite a limited release at fewer than 1,500 screens across the country. The film garnered over worldwide.


Critical reception

Critical views of the film were positive. On the film review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, 87% of 235 critics' reviews gave ''28 Days Later'' a positive review, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's consensus reads: "Kinetically directed by Danny Boyle, ''28 Days Later'' is both a terrifying zombie movie and a sharp political allegory." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a rating of 73 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". '' Bravo'' awarded it the 100th spot on their list of 'The 100 Scariest Movie Moments' in a four-episode 2004 television series. The commentators explained that making the zombies move fast for the first time was a bright and effective idea. In 2007, ''
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'' named it the second-best zombie movie of all time. The film also ranked at number 456 in ''Empire'''s 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.
Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...
ranked the film seventh in their list of the Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade, with the article saying "Zombie movie? Political allegory? Humanist drama? ''28 Days Later'' is all of those things and more—a genuine work of art by a director at the top of his game. What's so amazing about the film is the way it so expertly balances scenes of white-knuckled, hell-for-leather horror with moments of intimate beauty." In 2017, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for '' Time Out'' magazine ranked it the 97th-best British film ever. Rotten Tomatoes lists the film on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.


Legacy and cultural impact

''28 Days Later'' had an impact on subsequent
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
s, and is credited with starting a revival for the zombie genre, along with the ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' franchise. The 2004 remake of ''Dawn of the Dead'', for example, was influenced by ''28 Days Later''. ''28 Days Later'' was followed by other infection films such as '' Cabin Fever'' (2002), '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''
Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...
'' (2006), '' I Am Legend'' (2007), '' Planet Terror'' (2007), '' Doomsday'' (2008), '' Dead Snow'' (2009), '' Zombieland'' (2009), '' Devil's Playground'' (2010),' '' The Night Eats the World'' (2018), and '' Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023), as well as books such as '' World War Z'' (2006), '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' (2009) and '' Warm Bodies'' (2010), and zombie-themed graphic novels and television shows such as '' The Walking Dead''. The film was parodied in the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' episode " Die Hippie, Die" (2005) and in ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode " Treehouse of Horror XX" (2009). The zombie revival trend lasted for more than a decade after ''28 Days Later'', before eventually declining in popularity by the late 2010s. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, images of a national lockdown in the United Kingdom and stay-at-home orders elsewhere were compared to the opening sequence of ''28 Days Later''. In 2021, Megan Burns said of the film, "When I joined the cast of ''28 Days Later'' I had no idea of how big a cultural impact it would have and what a game-changer it would be to the 'zombie' genre. Even now after all these years, (or perhaps especially now with the current situation,) people want to talk about the film and that's incredible." Director
Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...
said he cast Murphy as Scarecrow in ''
Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...
'' (2005) after being impressed by his performance in ''28 Days Later''.


Accolades

* Best Horror Film (2003 US Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films – Saturn Award) * Best British Film (Empire Award) * Danny Boyle (Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver) * Best Director – Danny Boyle (International Fantasy Film Award) * Best International Film – Danny Boyle ( Narcisse Award) * Best Breakthrough Performance – Naomie Harris (Black Reel) * Best Cinematographer – Anthony Dod Mantle (European Film Award)


Subsequent media


Sequels

A sequel, ''
28 Weeks Later ''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. It serves as a standalone sequel to '' 28 Days Later'' (20 ...
'', was released on 11 May 2007. Danny Boyle and
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel '' The Beach'' (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films '' 28 Days Later'' (2002) and '' Sun ...
took producing roles alongside Andrew Macdonald. The plot revolves around the arrival of American troops about seven months after the incidents in the original film, attempting to restore order and revitalise a nearly desolate Britain. The cast includes Robert Carlyle,
Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994) , and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She gained her first leading film role in ...
, Jeremy Renner,
Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic ''Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in the Paul Ray ...
, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton and
Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
. In March 2007, Danny Boyle said that he would be interested in making a third film in the series, '' 28 Months Later''. In 2019, he said "Alex Garland and I have a wonderful idea for the third part". In January 2024, it was announced that a third film in the series, '' 28 Years Later'', was in development. It is considered the first installment in a potential trilogy, with Boyle directing the first film and Garland writing all three. With a planned $75 million budget per installment, the duo will also produce the trilogy alongside the original producer Andrew Macdonald and former Fox Searchlight Pictures head Peter Rice. Cillian Murphy will reprise his role as Jim.


Comic books

Fox Atomic Comics, in association with
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
, released a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
bridging the time gap between ''28 Days Later'' and ''28 Weeks Later'', titled '' 28 Days Later: The Aftermath'', written by Steve Niles. '' 28 Days Later'', a comic sequel also linking ''Days'' and ''Weeks'' and produced by Fox Atomic (until its demise) and
Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...
, began production in 2009. The series focuses on Selena and answers questions about her in the film and her sequel whereabouts.


Digital availability

''28 Days Later'' and ''28 Weeks Later'' became properties of
the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, following the company's acquisition of Fox in 2019. By November 2022, ''28 Days Later'' had become unavailable on Disney-owned streaming services, including its removal from Disney+ Star internationally, hinting that Disney had lost rights to the film; only its sequel, still owned by Disney, was available on streaming sites. In February 2024, it was revealed that producer Andrew MacDonald had bought back the rights to the film from Disney and
Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc., formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an American arthouse film production and distribution company, which since 2019 is owned by Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the ...
, promptly selling it to
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
(via
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
) along with the upcoming sequel '' 28 Years Later''. In December 2024, following a largely favourable response from the public to the trailer for ''28 Years Later'', Sony announced that it would be making ''28 Days Later'' available for purchase on digital and rental platforms from 18 December.


References


External links

* * {{Portal bar, 2000s, Film, United Kingdom, United States, Speculative fiction, Horror, Viruses 28 Days Later (film series) 2000s American films 2000s British films 2000s dystopian films 2000s English-language films 2000s road movies 2000s science fiction horror films 2002 films 2002 horror films 2002 independent films American dystopian films American post-apocalyptic films American independent films American road movies American science fiction horror films American zombie films British dystopian films British post-apocalyptic films British independent films British road movies British science fiction horror films British zombie films Camcorder films DNA Films films Eco-terrorism in fiction Films about viral outbreaks Films adapted into comics Films directed by Danny Boyle Films produced by Andrew Macdonald Films scored by John Murphy (composer) Films set in 2002 Films set in Cambridge Films set in London Films set in Manchester Films set in the Lake District Films shot in Cumbria Films shot in London Films with screenplays by Alex Garland Fox Searchlight Pictures films English-language science fiction horror films English-language independent films Saturn Award–winning films UK Film Council films