28 Days Later

Critics Consensus

Kinetically directed by Danny Boyle, 28 Days Later is both a terrifying zombie movie and a sharp political allegory.

87%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 231

85%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 482,360

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28 Days Later Videos

28 Days Later: Trailer 1

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28 Days Later Photos

Left to right: Military advisor Henry Camilleri, director Danny Boyle, and camera assistant Simon Tindal.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) jerks forward towards Jim and Henry

Jim (Cillian Murphy) hides in the tangle of bodies at the execution site.

Director Danny Boyle talks to Naomie Harris and Megan Burns on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) escapes into the kitchen.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) kills Private Jones (Leo Bill).

Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) look down the stairwell towards the noise.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) moves through the hospital looking for signs of life.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) looks across London from Frank's balcony.

Hannah (Megan Burns) and Selena (Naomie Harris) sit in the living room on the sofa while Jones covers them with the gun.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson).

Director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle instructs the crane operator on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Sergeant Farrell (Stuart McQuarrie) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) are let away to be executed by Private Jones (Leo Bill) and Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett) .

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) listens to the radio while Hannah (Megan Burns) unpacks the taxi.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) lounges towards Henry and Jim.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell).

Left to right: Jim (Cillian Murphy), Hannah (Megan Burns), and Selena (Naomie Harris) sit at the dinning table with the soldiers.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) lets off a controlled burst of shots into the tent

Left to right: Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett), Private Bedford (Ray Panthaki), Henry (Christopher Eccleston), Private Jones (Leo Bill), Hannah (Megan Burns) and Selena (Naomie Harris).

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) escapes into the kitchen.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston)

Jim (Cillian Murphy).

Left to right: Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett), Bedford (Ray Panthaki), Henry (Christopher Eccleston), and Private Jones (Leo Bill).

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) looks for life at the blockade.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) looks down the tunnel towards a noise coming towards them.

Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) shine the torch up the stairwell.

Left to right: Director Danny Boyle, Tristan Matthaie as an infected and Brendan Gleeson as Frank discuss the scene on the stairwell of the tower block.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands motionless listening for Henry and Davis.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and his daughter Hannah (Megan Burns).

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) talks to Jim on the radio.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) looks for Jim in the rain.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) look down the tunnel towards a noise coming towards them.

Left to right: Jim (Cillian Murphy), Hannah (Megan Burns), and Selena (Naomie Harris) sit at the dinning table with the soldiers.

Clifton (Luke Mably) smokes a cigarette oblivious of the danger of Mailer outside the window.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) runs for his life from the infected chasing him.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) takes Jim (Cillian Murphy) the roof which is covered in pots, pans and buckets to collect water.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) shoots an infected (Nick Ewans) on the windscreen.

Left to right: Frank (Brendan Gleeson), Jim (Cillian Murphy)and Selena (Naomie Harris) look down the tunnel towards a noise.

Selena (Naomie Harris).

Jim (Cillian Murphy) looks up while Selena (Naomie Harris) sleeps beside him.

Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) make their way through the carnage in the tower block.

Selena (Naomie Harris) enters the tower block with Jim ( Cillian Murphy).

Jim (Cillian Murphy) walks towards the Café.

Cillian Murphy as Jim and Naomie Harris as Selena between a take.

Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris), Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett), Hannah (Megan Burns) and Private Bedford (Ray Panthaki). Selena and Hannah try to escape but are stopped by Mitchell & Bedford.

Jim, Hannah and Selena sit with the soldiers at the dinning table.

Christopher Eccleston with director Danny Boyle on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) shows Jim (Cillian Murphy) Mailer.

Stunt co-ordinator Nick Powell hovers over actor Luke Mably

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) shoots an infected (Nick Ewans) on the windscreen.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) holds Clifton (Luke Mably) down.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands motionless listening for Henry and Davis.

Mr Bridges (Alexander Delamere) tries to kill Jim (Cillian Murphy).

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) and Selena (Naomie Harris) look at the view together.

Director Danny Boyle on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) fills the jerry can.

The stairwell infected pose for a shot. (Left to right: Richard Dwyer and Tristan Matthaie).

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Selena (Naomie Harris) runs away from the burning infected.

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Left to right: director of photographer Anthony Dod Mantle and director Danny Boyle on location in Crowthorne on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Left to right: Frank (Brendan Gleeson), Hannah (Megan Burns), Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy).

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) yells out the cab window as the infected get closer.

Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris), Hannah (Megan Burns), Jim (Cillian Murphy), and Frank (Brendan Gleeson) watch a group of horses gallop over the field.

Cillian Murphy as Jim on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Hannah (Megan Burns) drives the cab with Jim (Cillian Murphy) in the back.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson).

Jim (Cillian Murphy) examines the caviar at the supermarket.

Selena (Naomie Harris) runs up the stairs in the towerblock.

Director Danny Boyle.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) escapes through the window.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands motionless listening for Henry and Davis.

Selena (Naomie Harris) holds her machete up and is frozen as Jim (Cillian Murphy) walks towards her.

Mailer (Marvin Campbell) vomits over Clifton (Luke Mably).

Henry (Christopher Eccleston).

Jim (Cillian Murphy) kisses Selena (Naomie Harris).

Selena (Naomie Harris) shines her torch up the stairs in the towerblock.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) in the back of the cab.

The infected run down the tunnel as the cab races off.

Yellow filter: Production shot: director of photography Anthony

Left to right: First assistant director Richard Styles, director Danny Boyle, and Cillian Murphy on the set of the café of 28 DAYS LATER.

Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris) and Hannah (Megan Burns).

Mailer (Marvin Campbell).

Left to right: Private Bedford (Ray Panthaki), Clifton (Luke Mably), Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett) and Selena (Naomie Harris). High from killing the infected Mitchell taunts Selena.

Private Jones (Leo Bill) runs for his life.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) tries to comfort Selena (Naomie Harris).

Henry (Christopher Eccleston).

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Selena (Naomie Harris) shines her torch up the stairs in the towerblock.

Director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle and first assistant Richard Styles on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) and Frank (Brendan Gleeson) on the roof of the Tower block. The roof is covered in buckets and containers collecting water.

Director Danny Boyle talks to Megan Burns on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

The Petrol Station blows up.

Left to right: Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) sit on the sofa in Frank's apartment.

Selena (Naomie Harris) strikes her machete down onto an infected Mr Bridges (Alexander Delamere).

Jim (Cillian Murphy).

Selena (Naomie Harris, Jim (Cillian Murphy) and Hannah (Megan Burns) lie beside it each other. Jim and Hannah are having problems sleeping.

Two burning infected (Left to right: stunt man Peter Pedrero and stunt women Eunice Huthart).

Selena (Naomie Harris) explores the encampment.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands by the truck while Jim fills the jerry can.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands motionless listening for Henry and Davis.

The crew set up a shot at the blockade: left to right: Director Danny Boyle, standby art director Kam Lan Man, director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle, and camera operator Marcel Zyskind.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Director Danny Boyle on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) .

Jim (Cillian Murphy) cautiously explores the army encampment.

Selena (Naomie Harris).

One of the soldiers in the forest at the blockade.

Sergeant Farrell (Stuart McQuarrie) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) are let away to be executed.

Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris), Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett), Hannah (Megan Burns) and Private Bedford (Ray Panthaki). Selena and Hannah try to escape but are stopped by Mitchell & Bedford.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) runs for his life away from a burning infected(stunt man George Cottle Jr).

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) takes Jim (Cillian Murphy) the roof which is covered in pots, pans and buckets to collect water.

Selena (Naomie Harris) and Jim (Cillian Murphy) stop abruptly on the stairs confronted by a man in riot gear.

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Left to right: Selena (Naomie Harris), Private Mitchell (Ricci Harnett), Hannah (Megan Burns) and Private Bedford (Ray Panthaki). Selena and Hannah try to escape but are stopped by Mitchell & Bedford.

Selena (Naomie Harris).

Cillian Murphy who plays Jim on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Frank (Brendan Gleeson) followed by Hannah (Megan Burns) pushes open the flaps of tent to see if there is any life inside.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) stands in the gallery of the church looking down at the human massacre beneath him.

Naomie Harris as Selena and Cillian Murphy as Jim sits on the stairwell of the tower block between takes.

Hannah (Megan Burns) and Selena (Naomie Harris) sit in the living room on the sofa while Jones covers them with the gun.

Henry (Christopher Eccleston) enters the kitchen to find Bedford (Ray Panthaki) murdered.

Cillian Murphy who plays Jim on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

Jim ( Cillian Murphy) walks through the empty city.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) moves through the hospital looking for signs of life.

One of the soldiers in the forest at the blockade.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) talks to Henry (Christopher Eccleston).

Jim (Cillian Murphy) beats Mitchell (Ricci Harnett) to death.

Production still from the film 28 DAYS LATER.

Production designer Mark Tildesley.

Director Danny Boyle on the set of 28 DAYS LATER.

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later (2002)

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Movie Info

A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with the "Rage" virus from a medical research lab. When London bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma a month after, he finds his city all but deserted. On the run from the zombie-like victims of the Rage, Jim stumbles upon a group of survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris) and cab driver Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and joins them on a perilous journey to what he hopes will be safety.

Rating:

R (Nudity|Language|Strong Gore|Strong Violence)
Genre:

horror, sci fi
Original Language:

English
Director:

Danny Boyle
Producer:

Andrew Macdonald
Release Date (Theaters):

Jun 27, 2003 original
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA):

$$45,063,889
Runtime:

1h 52m
Production Co:

Fox Searchlight, Film Council, DNA Pictures International
Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio:

Flat (1.85:1)

Cast

Cillian Murphy
as Jim

Naomie Harris
as Selena

Brendan Gleeson
as Frank

Megan Burns
as Hannah

Christopher Eccleston
as Maj. Henry West

Luke Mably
as Pvt. Clifton

Stuart McQuarrie
as Sgt. Farrell

Ricci Harnett
as Cpl. Mitchell

Leo Bill
as Pvt. Jones

Junior Laniyan
as Pvt. Bell

Ray Panthaki
as Private Bedford

Sanjay Rambaruth
as Private Davis

Marvin Campbell
as Private Mailer

Noah Huntley
as Mark

Alex Palmer
as Activist

Bindu De Stoppani
as Activist

Jukka Hiltunen
as Activist

David Schneider
as Scientist

Toby Sedgwick
as Infected Priest

Christopher Dunne
as Jim's Father

Emma Hitching
as Jim's Mother

Alexander Delamere
as Mr. Bridges

Kim McGarrity
as Mr. Bridges Daughter

Justin Hackney
as Infected Kid

View All

News & Interviews for 28 Days Later

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Critic Reviews for 28 Days Later

All Critics (231) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (200) | Rotten (31)

The movie's craft makes the dread of a killer virus contagious: viewers may feel they have come down with a case of secondhand SARS or sympathetic monkeypox.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic
Heedlessly derivative though it may be, 28 Days Later does what it sets out to do and then some -- scare us out of our wits, then get us to apply those wits to an uncommonly intelligent and provocative zombie flick.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic
Later does a lot of things right, which makes its third-act missteps even more frustrating.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Nathan Rabin
AV Club
Top Critic
The picture is twitchy and annoying, flecked with blood and half-digested ideas, and too much is left unexplained.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Anthony Lane
New Yorker
Top Critic
Danny Boyle's purposeful direction and Mark Tildesley's imaginative and resourceful production design keep this fresh and edgy; the images of a wasted London and the details of a paramilitary organization in the countryside are both creepy and persuasive.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
What also makes 28 Days Later effective, and sets it apart from other thrillers, is that it makes you care about the characters.

October 6, 2013 | Full Review…

Christy Lemire
Associated Press
Top Critic
A truly innovative and disturbing horror fantasy about a modern-day England totally ravaged by plague.

June 26, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
A perfect fusion of lo-fi but gorgeous camerawork, a searing soundtrack and pitch-perfect performances... the film demonstrates how something tender and intimate can also be terrifying and epic.

March 18, 2020 | Rating: 10/10 | Full Review…

Alex Saveliev
Film Threat
Twenty-eight Days Later is a zombie flick, which makes it my kind of movie-dare I say, our kind of movie. No cinema zombie ever shambles into view without its agenda.

March 16, 2020 | Full Review…

Joshua Rothkopf
In These Times
[G]ritty and truly frightening.

January 10, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Mark H. Harris
Black Horror Movies
28 Days Later was thrilling for the time.

October 23, 2019 | Full Review…

Jordan Snowden
Pittsburgh City Paper
28 Days Later unfolds as agripping suspense film punctuated by gruesome violence.

October 11, 2019 | Full Review…

Brian D. Johnson
Maclean's Magazine

View All Critic Reviews (231)

Audience Reviews for 28 Days Later

Apr 18, 2017

As far as zombie movies go this sure is different. It is also very raw and gritty, as well as inappropriate at times. I do not feel like I need to watch it again.

Jarrin R Super Reviewer
Oct 22, 2016

Menacing, grisly and bloody-brilliant to its core. 28 Days Later's combination of heart-pounding terror and gritty realism conjure up a fascinating take on a zombie/infection/plague tale and its real-world-situational trope. 4/5

Eugene B Super Reviewer
Mar 11, 2015

28 Days Later was made on a very small budget in the early days of digital cinema, so, yes, in retrospect, it does look a little bit like it was shot on a Nokia 3310, and yes, it is heavily responsible for the bilious deluge of zombie movies we got in its wake, which we are only now finally recovering from - but it's so good.

Gimly M Super Reviewer
Dec 29, 2014

Truly horrifying and intense but it weakens towards the end.

Maymay A Super Reviewer

See all Audience reviews

28 Days Later Quotes

Selena:

Do you think they saw us this time?

Jim:	And then I wake up today in hospital. I wake up and I'm... I'm hallucinating or I'm...
Mark:	What's your name?
Jim:	Jim.
Mark:	I'm Mark. This is Selena. Ok, Jim. I've got some bad news.

Jim:	Please..
Corporal Mitchell:	Believe me, I'm not interested.

Mark:	A man walks into a bar with a giraffe. They both get pissed. The giraffe falls over. The man goes to leave and the bartender says, "Oi. You can't leave that lyin' there." And the man says, "No, it's not a lion. It's a giraffe."
Mark:	A man walks into a bar with a giraffe. They both get pissed. The giraffe falls over. The man goes to leave and the bartender says, 'Oi. You can't leave that lyin' there.' And the man says, 'No, it's not a lion. It's a giraffe.'
Jim:	[Doesn't respond]

View All Quotes

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