28 Days Later
I liked Danny Boyle’s non-zombie zombie movie – it was stylish, well-acted, and tense/shocking at times, if not really scary. The digital video gave it a distinctive look that I enjoyed. But for some reason, most of it evaporated from my head soon after we left the theater. It just didn’t have the weight that I expected; the dread. It seemed more like a film school project than a story about people dealing with the end of the world.
I liked it much more just as we left the theater than I do now. Like a rollercoaster ride, it was thrilling in the short term, but didn’t leave much behind.
One of the reasons I like Boyle so much is that he directed one of my favorite movies, “Shallow Grave.” And there’s more dread and weight to that movie, about a group of friends dealing with a dead roommate and a suitcase full of cash, than there is here.
If you want a brief fun ride, it’s worth it. But if you want something that will stick with you once the lights come up, rent “Shallow Grave” instead.
I just watched it again and enjoyed it more the second time. It’s a zombie art film; take it as what it is.
You’re right about the movie not having a sense of dread. I think it might have been because of the ease with which the zombies were dealt with by humans.
I think Boyle did a much better job with people’s emotions and reactions to the scenes though. The way each character reacted to the unfurling events was the most strongest characteristc of the movie. Everything from Naomie Harris’ (the black girl) stoic nature in the face of everything until she met the father and child to the main character’s manner of dealing with the soldiers was completely human. And the height of comic genius might have been in the scene where the soldier begs the man not to leave him alone with the zombies. ITs quite possible that the only thing sadder than an Englishman wearing a baseball hat, is a soldier who has lost his survival skills.
And I do agree, Shallow Grave did have a ton more dread, besides being exquisitely fucked up in general.