Title – 28 Days Later (2002)

Director – Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Cast – Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Brendan Gleeson

Plot – When a highly infectious virus turns most of the U.K into rage induced “zombies”, a small group of survivors venture to the countryside in hopes of finding salvation.

“Plans are pointless. Staying alive is as good as it gets”

Review by Eddie on 18/06/2025

The film that completely redefined the zombie genre without ever in fact being a zombie movie, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s surprise 2002 hit that has gone on to spawn the decent if not exactly ground-breaking sequel 28 Weeks Later and the high profile 28 Years Later that is soon to git global screens is still a powerful and visceral watch all these years on from release.

An instantly iconic cinematic offering thanks to its early shots of a nearly barren infected ridden London and its swarms of rage induced victims that gave away zombie shuffling in favour of quick-paced chase downs, 28 Days Later overcame any potential budgetary constraints to open the doors to big-scale set pieces and ideas that centre around Cillian Murphy’s Jim and his small cohort of survivor compatriots seeking out shelter from the world at war in the quiet English countryside.

Frenetically captured by D.O.P Anthony Dod Mantle, accompanied by a vigorous score from frequent Boyle collaborator John Murphy and expertly written by the always impressive Garland, 28 Days Later has the intimacy and rawness of a low-budget offering but at the same time offers up something much more, all of which will likely be explored in even deeper and grander ways in the soon to drop 28 Years Later.

At the time coming off the relatively disappointing reception of his 2000 Leonardo Di Caprio starring The Beach and struggling to prove he had what it takes to match the greatness of his breakout hit in the form of 1996 cult favourite Trainspotting, 28 Days Later arrived at the perfect time for Boyle who was in need of a boost to his career prospects and riding the highs of this horror offering saw Boyle six years later walk away with his Best Director award for his 2008 smash hit Slumdog Millionaire.

Watching Boyle’s career defining hit all these years later is also fascinating in respects of how it launched now Oscar winning Hollywood legend Cillian Murphy into the mainstream.

Casting him after some notable works in his home country and some decently received TV affairs, Murphy’s role as the working class Jim was a masterstroke from Boyle and even early in his career here Murphy carried a rare ability to be relatable and charismatic all at once and when surrounded by talents such as Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston and the always scene-stealing Brendan Gleeson, it makes 28 Days Later a notable example of early 2000 ensemble work of the highest order.

Boyle’s offering maybe flawed and slightly less impactful in the years following its at the time wild concepts but 28 Days Later remains a quintessential piece of the modern day horror puzzle and a defining achievement in the zombie film space with one right to assume Boyle and Garland’s next venture together is going to do much the same in the very near future.

Final Say –

A frenetic, fast-paced and ferocious zombie film that isn’t, 28 Days Later marked a significant career milestone for all involved and will likely continue to appreciated by new and old fans alike with the incoming release of its long-gestating follow on.

4 unqualified chefs out of 5