A very well thought out break-down. I agree that the third act k8nd of falls apart. I've only seen it twice and, on the second viewing I realised that I had chosen to forget the entire second half of the film. But I didn't know they had run out of money, which explains why that whole section of the film felt more like a TV play, compared to the first act.
Thanks, Philip! Yeah, Eccleston's great in this. I love the way he ruffles Jim's hair in one scene, like he's a little kid. So many menacing little touches.
Yeah, I liked your take on Black Mirror too. To me there’s also a bit of simplistic redundancy about the whole undertaking, a touch of the “yes, but so what?”
I normally wouldn't comment on a show I haven't watched (though I probably should), but, yeah, I can't help feeling like there's little insight to many of the stories I hear about it. The incessant bleakness sounds like it's just endorsing the very doomscrolling it seems to criticise. Kinda like The Boys (which I have watched), which purports to be taking a stand against the bad guys who perpetuate violence and yet takes absolute pleasure in its own nastiness. :P
Thinking about it now, the latter part of 28 Days Later is kind of a grimily millennial take on earlier British post-collapse fiction, things like Survivors, Day of the Triffids.
Another fascinating and well-written post Alec! My girlfriend and I saw 28 Days Later in the cinema and despite being real lovers of the horror genre were absolutely shaken by it. I still haven't plucked up the nerve to watch it again, and my girlfriend (now wife) hasn't watched a single zombie move since, it scared her so much.
The scenes I still remember are all from the first half of the film - London deserted, Jim's parents, the guys we see getting infected, those empty spaces and horrible chases. I've forgotten almost everything that happens after the army show up.
Despite all the reawakened trauma, a brilliant read. Cheers!
I can't comment on the second one but in terms of sheer terror this is the best zombie film and possibly the best horror film ever - I can't think of another that shook me so much. The original Funny Games, maybe.
The infected are terrifying but there's something about it that makes it so bleak and unsettling in a way that, say, Doomsday isn't. The characters?
I suspect a lot of us have a bit of a fear of crowds - not 'friendly' crowds like a load of people at a concert but big unfeeling ones, where you feel insignificant and powerless. I always find crowd stampede scenes in films pretty horrible. Being chased by a huge gang of people is a chilling idea.
I'm not sure how much it being set in the UK also contributes and makes it all the more chilling.
I remember it as certainly being a very, very intense watch.
I'm really tempted to give it another go actually.
I'd definitely give this and 'Weeks' another watch. Totally different movies post-Covid. Also fun to watch stars-to-be like Murphy running around and looking about 12! Still very intense watches though.
"Director Danny Boyle (still riding high after Trainspotting, 1996)" - not entirely convinced this was the case, but then I had the job of adapting the car crash of Boyle's Trainspotting follow-up into a comic so my judgement may be impaired. He followed that with The Beach and two TV movies (credited as 2001) which never get mentioned anymore, Strumpet and Vacuuming Complete Nude in Paradise. Yes, he still had a tiny bit of Trainspotting heat but most of it was long gone by the time of 28 Days Later, I'd suggest, and point to the tiny budget as proof.
I dunno, I'd argue Trainspotting had a pretty long cultural tail... I was working in Soho House around the time of The Beach and that movie was a big, big noise! True story: when I was working in the Odeon West End we got a visit from a studio manager who was telling us they'd just come away from watching this "ghastly" movie called 'Shallow Grave' and how the director would never amount to anything. :D
A very well thought out break-down. I agree that the third act k8nd of falls apart. I've only seen it twice and, on the second viewing I realised that I had chosen to forget the entire second half of the film. But I didn't know they had run out of money, which explains why that whole section of the film felt more like a TV play, compared to the first act.
I always enjoy your analysis and insights
Really kind of you to say, Andrew!
Loved this really thoughtful and enjoyed you reminding me of just how fucking terrifying Eccles is in 28 Days.
Thanks, Philip! Yeah, Eccleston's great in this. I love the way he ruffles Jim's hair in one scene, like he's a little kid. So many menacing little touches.
Yeah, I liked your take on Black Mirror too. To me there’s also a bit of simplistic redundancy about the whole undertaking, a touch of the “yes, but so what?”
I normally wouldn't comment on a show I haven't watched (though I probably should), but, yeah, I can't help feeling like there's little insight to many of the stories I hear about it. The incessant bleakness sounds like it's just endorsing the very doomscrolling it seems to criticise. Kinda like The Boys (which I have watched), which purports to be taking a stand against the bad guys who perpetuate violence and yet takes absolute pleasure in its own nastiness. :P
Thinking about it now, the latter part of 28 Days Later is kind of a grimily millennial take on earlier British post-collapse fiction, things like Survivors, Day of the Triffids.
Definitely!
Another fascinating and well-written post Alec! My girlfriend and I saw 28 Days Later in the cinema and despite being real lovers of the horror genre were absolutely shaken by it. I still haven't plucked up the nerve to watch it again, and my girlfriend (now wife) hasn't watched a single zombie move since, it scared her so much.
The scenes I still remember are all from the first half of the film - London deserted, Jim's parents, the guys we see getting infected, those empty spaces and horrible chases. I've forgotten almost everything that happens after the army show up.
Despite all the reawakened trauma, a brilliant read. Cheers!
Haha! No worries, Luke. The trailer for the third entry was pretty traumatising for me. :D
I just watched that trailer and can agree :D
I can't comment on the second one but in terms of sheer terror this is the best zombie film and possibly the best horror film ever - I can't think of another that shook me so much. The original Funny Games, maybe.
The infected are terrifying but there's something about it that makes it so bleak and unsettling in a way that, say, Doomsday isn't. The characters?
Maybe it's because they feel so undefeatable, so final?
I think you're right. And so aggressive.
I suspect a lot of us have a bit of a fear of crowds - not 'friendly' crowds like a load of people at a concert but big unfeeling ones, where you feel insignificant and powerless. I always find crowd stampede scenes in films pretty horrible. Being chased by a huge gang of people is a chilling idea.
I'm not sure how much it being set in the UK also contributes and makes it all the more chilling.
I remember it as certainly being a very, very intense watch.
I'm really tempted to give it another go actually.
I'd definitely give this and 'Weeks' another watch. Totally different movies post-Covid. Also fun to watch stars-to-be like Murphy running around and looking about 12! Still very intense watches though.
This is a beautiful, thoughtful, gnostic piece. THANKS!!!
Thanks so much, John!
"Director Danny Boyle (still riding high after Trainspotting, 1996)" - not entirely convinced this was the case, but then I had the job of adapting the car crash of Boyle's Trainspotting follow-up into a comic so my judgement may be impaired. He followed that with The Beach and two TV movies (credited as 2001) which never get mentioned anymore, Strumpet and Vacuuming Complete Nude in Paradise. Yes, he still had a tiny bit of Trainspotting heat but most of it was long gone by the time of 28 Days Later, I'd suggest, and point to the tiny budget as proof.
Your mileage may vary, of course!
I dunno, I'd argue Trainspotting had a pretty long cultural tail... I was working in Soho House around the time of The Beach and that movie was a big, big noise! True story: when I was working in the Odeon West End we got a visit from a studio manager who was telling us they'd just come away from watching this "ghastly" movie called 'Shallow Grave' and how the director would never amount to anything. :D
Ha! His dad probably turned down the Beatles 30 years earlier.