28 Days Later

"Zombie Day not...Darby Day"

“Zombie Day”

My niece’s name is Darby. When watching Peaky Blinders, Cillian Murphy’s Brummie dialect on “Derby Day” (one of the series’ best episodes, in my opinion, starring Jurassic Park’s Sam Neil) first said it, all I heard was “Darby Day.” She’s as tough as nails. I wouldn’t put it past my educator niece to have a razor in her cap or hidden in a chalkboard eraser. Not that they use those anymore!

With Oppenheimer all buzzing, and our The Alfred Letters concluding, I caught an interview with the film’s star, waxing on his favorite roles.

I remembered loving 28 Days Later and wanted to revisit it (as one does). But, according to JustWatch, “28 Days Later is not available for streaming.”.

I wouldn’t want to damage Stacey’s PS5, so I waited for her to come home for me to pop my newly acquired copy on Blu-ray. Good old eBay! I also got Broken Lizard’s debut film Puddle Cruiser. I was glad I did wait because the direction you stick the disc in the player is the opposite one you would think. She tried it first; any voided warranty would be on her dime!

After our pandemic, why not check out a good ol’ zombie movie? Not to be confused with 30 Days of Night, a good ol’ vampire movie.

Our protagonist Jim wakes up from a coma. He’s a bike courier, so I identify with that. This is 28 days after animal rights activists seek to free primates from a lab. This is the inciting incident because they don’t realize that these monkeys are about to spread a plague of zombies on the world! Stupid activists! Just kidding.

The shots of the bare streets of London and the eerily familiar ‘missing person’ post-9/11 wall are spectacular, especially for someone like me, obsessed with Doctor Who and James Bond shot in these same locations. The attacks took place during the filming of 28 Days Later, and the custom missing person flyer wall was commissioned to one artist who took five months to make them all! This was based on family members trying to find family members after an earthquake in China.

Danny Boyle knows how to direct a film, and this one was a lower budget with family members and off-the-street extras. This was also shot on digital cameras, which was not standard then.

This movie sets up a new power set for ‘zombies’ and sets the precedent of not referring to the creatures as the “Z” word. Our turned individuals are infected by the Rage Virus, which makes them stronger and faster than our 1960s Night of The Living Dead version in the pop culture psyche.

Jim eventually meets up with a crew that saves him from an attack and assimilates, no longer alone.

From The Last of Us to Shaun of The Dead, Zombieland, and The Walking Dead, you can see this film’s influence on pop and zombie culture. His heartbreaking homecoming journey is followed by touching character moments.

Friends turning are not immune to a swift killing, and all are careful not to get infected.

Murphy's co-stars are impressive, from Doctor Who's Christopher Eccleston to Brendan Gleeson and James Bond's Moneypenny, Naomie Harris.

The third act takes place in part Major Henry West's (Eccleston) compound, a Birmingham stronghold that could easily be swapped with the Tommy from Peaky Blinder's Birmingham Manse.

On this very Sunday, I am watching Pure Rage: The Making of '28 Days Later', which is a 20-minute prequel filled with medical experts warning about a worldwide pandemic that would, indeed, strike us in 2020. Stranger than fiction, indeed.

I was hoping to hear more about the digital video cameras used to shoot the film, which was discussed in the making of a bit. We are used to the look of CCTV video and digital video cameras, from phones to security cams being ubiquitous now, but at the time, this was an aesthetic choice that fits the film. My copy is a 1080p Blu-Ray and has a gritty look. This is one of my favorite looks for any film, whether because of nostalgia or because I like a grim and gritty film. I’d maybe call this look ‘VHS noir.’ Some funny digital effects don’t hamper my enthusiasm for the general look of the movie I find the flaws quite charming.

Modern audiences might, at first, bristle at impending sexual assault on a woman and a teen by desperate militarized men, but perhaps might be satisfied with the way that story ends for those bastards!

Next up in the queue, of course, is 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, with Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, and Idris Alba. It’s not Boyle behind the monitor, but I am curious to watch this one, as Boyle is still the executive producer.

Could we get 28 Months Later or 28 Years Later? Boyle and Murphy seem open to it.

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Let me know what you think of 28 Days Later.