For good summer horror, this is your poison.
28 Days Later (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:196
Fresh:173
Rotten:23
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: 28 Days Later is both a terrifying zombie movie and a sharp political allegory.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence and gore, language and nudity
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Jun 27, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $44,900,469
Synopsis: After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks of screens displaying horrifically violent images. Ignoring the... After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks of screens displaying horrifically violent images. Ignoring the warnings of the terrified researcher who maintains the chimps are 'infected', they begin to free the animals and are immediately subjected to a bloody attack from the enraged creatures. 28 days later… Cycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma in the deserted intensive care unit of a London hospital. Mystified, he wanders the wards and corridors in search of others and eventually heads into the city streets, calling out for help. As the shadows lengthen Jim seeks shelter in a church only to find dead bodies piled in heaps on the chapel floor. A sudden noise alerts him to the presence of a priest but his lightening speed, blood stained eyes and murderous screams send Jim reeling into the street. More "infected" are attracted by the noise and Jim runs in panic and confusion as a growing flock sprint after him through the dark streets. A sudden explosion from a makeshift bomb heralds the arrival of fellow "survivors" Selena (NAOMIE HARRIS) and Mark (NOAH HUNTLEY). Following a daring rescue they take Jim to safety and start to explain to him the nature of the infection, that it is transmitted in the blood, is overwhelming within seconds, that Britain has been overrun and that they have no way of knowing if it has spread worldwide. Selena and Mark reluctantly agree to help the shell-shocked Jim return home to Deptford to find his parents, with terrifying consequences. Later, as they sneak through the darkened streets, Selena and Jim spot a lone light in a tower block and investigate to see if there are other survivors. The unlikely pair they find are father and daughter Frank (BRENDAN GLEESON) and Hannah (MEGAN BURNS) whose water supplies are running dangerously low and are desperate to find alternative shelter. As the group takes shelter in the tower block, an automated radio broadcast is picked up. A Manchester-based group of soldiers, led by Major Henry West (CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON), claim to have the 'answer' to infection and invite any survivors to join them at their blockade. Faced with no practical alternative, the group sets out northwards in Frank's black cab unaware that the worst is yet to come. Directed by Danny Boyle, 28 DAYS LATER is from an original screenplay by Alex Garland, the author of The Beach, and produced by Andrew Macdonald. The film stars Cillian Murphy (DISCO PIGS), Naomie Harris (WHITE TEETH), Christopher Eccleston (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, THE OTHERS, SHALLOW GRAVE), Megan Burns (LIAM) and Brendan Gleeson (THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, THE GENERAL, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A.I). [More]
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson, Luke Mably
Director: Danny Boyle
Director: Danny Boyle
Screenwriter: Alex Garland
Producer: Andrew MacDonald
Composer: John Murphy
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Release:
Mar 31, 2009
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Region [unknown]
- NTSC
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio - English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - French, Spanish
- Subtitles - English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Behind the Scenes: "Pure Rage: The Making of 28 DAYS LATER"
- Audio Commentary: Danny Boyle - Director; Alex Garland - Screenwriter
- Trailers: High Definition Theatrical Trailers
- Music Video: Jacknife Lee
Alternate Scenes:
- 1. Deleted Scenes (6; w/Optional Commentary)
- 2. Alternate Endings (4; 3 w/Optional Commentary)
Text/Photo Galleries:
Slideshows:
- 1. Running Production Stills (w/ Commentary)
- 2. Running Polaroids (w/ Introduction)
- Storyboards (w/ Animation)
Reviews for 28 Days Later
As a parable of human nature under extreme duress, 28 Days Later is never less than interesting.
Boyle, Garland, and a crack band of actors . . . effectively plunge us into a world where reason is gone, replaced by fear in all its ugly manifestations
I enjoyed watching this film, mostly because Murphy and Harris make such an appealing central couple to build a new world around. But nobody should mistake this for a killer-zombie movie with real soul.
Has enough chills and thrills -- as well as plenty of nearly dead creatures -- to rank among the scariest and most ingenious horror movies in recent memory.
28 Days Later is one of those textbook movies proving you can shock and scare an audience without resorting to lopping off heads or limbs, and that the camera can be as lethal a weapon as any automatic firearm, sword or machete.
Yet another example of how a small and talented cast, a great script, a relatively modest budget, and some inventive film making can render a far superior horror film.
In this third act, Boyle loses the genuine tension and anxiety that came so naturally before.
Yes, the rage-afflicted zombie substitutes are scary. But 28 DAYS LATER is even more frightening for what human beings end up doing to one another.
It's edgy, entertaining, and has people you like struggling to build a new existence - not things you normally find in a horror flick. Oh yeah, it's scary, too.
Funnier and smarter than the average movie in which flesh-eating ghouls chow on each other.
For the most part, 28 Days Later is a smart, vivid nightmare with refreshingly unconventional heroes.
Boyle is to be commended for taking what easily could have been a typical zombie movie and producing a film that not only scares the audience, it makes them think.
This "Dawn of the Dead" inspired chiller is strong on concept, style and brutally violent action, but suffers from poor musical scoring, and a digital video format that helped keep its budget at 10 million dollars.
Boyle and his remarkable cast play the material seriously, with an atmospheric soundtrack adding a sense of poetry and lyricism.
Latest News for 28 Days Later
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