Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later

28 Days Later is the film that made me realize Danny Boyle is a filmmaker to watch. It’s a masterpiece, and one of the cornerstones of the zombie genre. The film opens with Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakening in a hospital, having been in a coma for several weeks while the citizens of London fell victim to a ‘rage’ virus and became zombies. Jim meets up with Selena (Naomie Harris) and the two navigate London together, eventually hooking up with Frank (Brendan Gleason) and his daughter Hannah (Megan Burns).

The four journey across London together, encountering zombies and trying to survive. Frank is tragically infected and killed during the group’s attempt to find a military base. The three survivors seek shelter in the base, only to discover that the soldiers plan to rape Selena and Hannah. Jim embraces his rage and kills the soldiers, saving Selena and Hannah. The three escape, and are eventually rescued.

28 Days Later is a deeply ironic film, subverting audience and character expectations at every turn, even down to its basic premise. The ‘zombies’ that give the film its distinctive horror elements aren’t zombies in the traditional sense, seeing as they didn’t die and come back to life, but instead were infected with a virus. Jim begins the film as a milquetoast, scared man, and Serena has already evolved into a badass and saves Jim, a fresh twist on the standard damsel-in-distress story. Later in the film, when Jim and Serena first meet Frank, he’s clad in riot gear and beating zombies mercilessly. This is ironic because, after the introduction establishing him as a force to be reckoned with, Frank ends up being a gentle giant, not a brutal killing machine. The film’s strongest irony comes in its climax, first with the revelation that the soldiers protecting the group plan to rape the women, showing that even the survivors of the zombie outbreak have lost their humanity. The film then embraces this concept as it shows Jim snapping and going on a wild killing rampage, becoming overcome with his rage so effectively that Serena initially believes he’s infected.

28 Days Later is one of the most effective horror films I’ve ever seen, Danny Boyle’s first truly great film, and about as good an introduction to his work as I could have asked for.