28 Days Later(2003) - REVIEW

^This poster scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it back in 03

Though not as good as Danny Boyle's most recent effort (07's Sunshine), I can see why this film put him on the map. In a movie market that throws out another gross out "torture porn" horror flick every other month, it's refreshing to see a legitimate horror film (ie: there's plenty of blood) that isn't all about screaming and gruesome dismemberment. That's right...it's a modern day horror flick WITH A STORY, and an interesting one at that. In the film's prologue, animal rights activists break into a research facility where monkeys are being shown relentless footage of violence. Why? Scientists are trying to help figure out ways to get rid of violent urges by understanding the problem. Unfortunately, the activists don't heed the warnings of one lone scientist who catches them. One cage is opened, and a monkey sprints forward and bites one of the activists. In it's greatest scene of irony, a fellow activist kills the monkey to save his cohort (hahaha), but it's too late; she's become "infected". Her eyes are getting red, blood is dripping from her mouth, and soon she attacks everyone else in the room

28 Days Later....

We see Jim (Cillian Murphy) waking up in a disturbingly empty hospital. Finding some clothes, he walks out to see London completely empty in the film's most impressive scene. Why? Because none of it is fake (unlike some movies like I Am Legend). The director cleverly got permits to block traffic for certain areas during the filming, resulting in a scene that resonates with authentic isolation and emptiness. But if you (like Jim) think that there's no one else in the city....you'd be very very wrong. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how one SHOULD make horror films; Ones that have a story (which I won't elaborate on), but still has a constant sense of dread, with more than its fair share of tension and blood.

Grade: B+/A-

Noms: Best Picture (#5), Best Director- Danny Boyle(#5), Best Original Screenplay - Alex Garland (#4), Best Editing (#3), Best Cinematography (#1 WINNER), Best Art Direction (#3), Best Sound Mixing/Editing (#3)