28 Days Later (2002) Dir: Danny Boyle
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Danny Boyle's 2002 zombie thriller is a classic of the genre. I hadn't seen it in years, but a rewatch was inevitable. I was very excited to see it again. The film is a great example of mastering the art of horror on a budget. What it lacks in budget, it makes up for with clever camerawork and solid storytelling.
The soundtrack is intense and suspenseful, and can be optimised by the film's main theme, which remains one of the best pieces of music in cinema, in my opinion. The way the song builds and grows in heaviness reflects a lot of the film, and it was such a masterstroke to use it in the film.
Boyle presented a full range of different shots to make his film as visually stimulating as possible. I really appreciated the range of shots used, as well as the surprisingly varied set design, which made for a very believable post-apocalyptic Britain.
The story was admittedly tropy, but then, it is almost impossible to find a zombie film that isn't. What it does do, it does well. I thought Boyle was able to show the emotional strain on his characters brilliantly, and built a story driven by their decisions.
Cillian Murphy produced an excellent performance that really boosted the film's believability, as well as its emotional impact. This was, of course, some time before his biggest roles, but he really showed the class that would later make him a household name.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Naomi Harris, who really grew into the film, I thought. I felt that she was especially strong in the final third of the film, in which she was able to express some very big emotions really strongly.
Megan Burns was a bit quiet at times, and maybe a little bit too far in the background, but I enjoyed when she had a bit more to do towards the end. I think Brendan Gleeson showed a little bit of his class in an interesting supporting role, and I wish he had even more scenes, honestly. I also really liked his acting for his final scene.
Christopher Eccleston may not have been on-screen that long, in retrospect, but I thought his performance was extremely good. He was able to command each of his scenes, making him impossible to ignore. He had a charisma that I thought suited his character marvellously. I also think his facial expressions throughout were very compelling.
Overall, I think I appreciated both the filmmaking and the actual narrative of this a lot more than I used to. It didn't need a big budget to create a compelling and, at times, pretty frightening horror. The film has some great performances too, that allow the story to really hit home.
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