Hey folks, Harry here... as 28 DAYS LATER has begun sweeping across the UK, we've been getting reports about that and the next Danny Boyle film... I'm dying to see 28 DAYS LATER. I mean that, the reviews on this baby are just too damn good. Check em out and see for yourself....
Hi guys,
Just thought I'd drop you a line about (in my opinion) the UK's most exciting director Danny Boyle.
I'm a bit surprised there's only been a few reviews on your site for his new film 28 Days Later since a) It's been released here in Britain for a few days now; b) It's a kick-ass zombie film; and c) It's great!
First off, let me tell you about his next film - which will NOT be 'Porno' (aka Trainspotting 2) contrary to popular opinion. He was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live last week and was quizzed about his next flick.
Details were sketchy, but he said his next film has a title: Millions.
He said (and I'm paraphrasing) Millions was about the Euro - the new controversial new currency introduced in certain European countries last year - and how the change-over between the old and new currency would be of great benefit to criminals.
This was all he said, but does this mean Boyle is going to be making a heist film??!!! If so, I for one am very excited!
He also spoke about 'Porno' but what he said wasn't really anything that we haven't already heard in recent weeks: Yes, he loves the book and thinks it would make a great follow-up to Trainspotting; yes, he's made up with Ewan McGregor since the Beach/DiCaprio snub; he doesn't think the film could be made unless all the original cast agreed to come back.
Hope all this stuff is of interest to you and your readers.
If you're interested, here's what I thought about 28 Days Later. I'm going to keep the plot vague because it's the type of film that you only want to know the bare bones about.
A virus has wiped out the population of Britain, turning citizens into The Infected - zombie-like creatures that crave human flesh and can run like Olympic athletes.
The film starts with a stunning ten minute sequence when the film's 'hero' Jim wakes up in an empty London hospital and slowly begins to realise things are amiss - namely that the entire population is dead. Cue some amazingly eerie shots of deserted London streets and landmarks.
He meets up with some other survivors, and they hatch a plan to escape the infested city.
OK, first things first. In interviews Danny Boyle has said that 28 Days Later is NOT a zombie movie and NOT a horror movie. No offence Mr Boyle, but you're wrong.
The Infected may not be technically dead, but COME ON! These things are zombies in everything but name.
Their lightening-quick attacks are genuinely disturbing, even for me a zombie movie freak. Boyle speeds up the film and turns up the volume of their animal-like roars to 11 to create nasty, jarring and, yes, scary attack sequences.
The film was written by Alex Garland, who also penned The Beach, so it's no surprise when the film takes a bit of a left turn in the final third. Thematically, this last section is kind of similar to The Beach, in that involves a commune of sorts. (If Fox ever makes a reality TV show called When Communes Go Bad! they really should give Garland a phone.)
Overall, I really liked this film. It's not Boyle's best, but it's definitely a return to form after the dreadful The Beach.
It was filmed on digital video but not in a handheld Dogme kind of way. Boyle uses cranes, steadicam, dollies and all sorts to give this a really polished look. And when the zombies...sorry I mean not-zombies attack, the grainy look really adds an extra degree of reality to the scenes.
I should probably say that one of my friends who works with digital video thought the film looked DREADFUL. He also thought the movie as a whole sucked big time (but then again he enjoyed Dog Soldiers, a movie I was really really disappointed with - sorry fanboys!)
I don't know when the US release is, but I think horror geeks will really get a kick out of this. Some of the acting is a bit lame, but then again so is some of the acting in Dawn of the Dead, and I think it's the best horror film ever made.
I really loved this film and it's just nice to see a British director making a zombie movie right *coughpaulwsandersonahemcough*
My name is Marty McSuperfly
Now for Cliff Homewood....
Cliff Homewood here, first let me tell you about my drive home.
I ventured into the deserted car park, there was just the odd car scattered here and there, the door on a nearby car snapped shut quickly, tensely. I drove down the multi-storey, haunted by stillness. I reached the gate… escape! I flailed my arm out wildly trying to hit the button desperately needed to open the gate. Success! Outside. The streets were quiet, empty. This is eerie. This is fucking eerie. I tell myself it’s just remnants of the movie playing with my head, but it still feels wrong. It’s still night, and the streets still have an empty echo. It’s late and I’m the only one about. A sudden snatch of something in my wing mirror. "What was it?" My mind shrieks in fear. But it’s gone – relief - but suddenly it’s there again, a flashing of lights piercing the dark. Cop car? No, just another car’s headlights flaring in the dark. I’m still uneasy though, but I've luxuriated in atmosphere enough, the safe blanket of normality descends.
And now the review:
Certain movie theories ring true and you don’t want them proved false, e.g. good Schwarznegger films begin with a ‘T’. I would like to offer a new one, fresh off the press ready for destruction, good Danny Boyle films are British; SHALLOW GRAVE, TRAINSPOTTING and now 28 DAYS LATER. Forget the American efforts (A LIFE LESS ORDINARY, THE BEACH) they aren’t there. This is the Danny Boyle that made VACUUMING COMPLETELY NAKED IN PARADISE, oh and STRUMPET doesn’t exist either in case you’re wondering.
The films prologue superbly sets the scene; fast paced, violent and frightening. Then we are in the empty streets of London, the only slow part of the film, but atmospheric. At this point I’ll warn you this film does use clichés, the heroes always seem to find trouble before they find help, and the female lead is a ruthless survivor. It’s pulled off with aplomb, it may bother you if this sort of thing sticks in your craw, but fuck you, I enjoyed it.
Great camera angles are used throughout, often to make us nervous with the feeling of being watched. This is balanced with a good ol’ British sense of humour. It has realistic characters including my favourite; the bloke with a gravely voice and a down to earth wit, who’d exclaim, ‘your having a fucking giraffe ain’t ya?’ Sarge from DOG SOLDIERS is an example of this type, though this is the movie DOG SOLDIERS wished it was, with true edge of your seat tension throughout, and more originality (though not as terrifying as RING.)
It has an intelligent script that tells you to think about the situation, and offers different theories to what’s happening in the world, but no definite answers. I like that. The ending isn’t a cop out like some reviews have said, it is set up earlier on, is clichéd, but true.
The film explores the idiosyncrasies of human behaviour in such a situation, leading to tensions between methods of survival. Even in the most harrowing of circumstances moments of beauty can be found and Danny Boyle acknowledges that in one country bound scene proving this film has great visuals (compensating for the disappointing vision of Manchester alive with fire, during which you think ‘cool’ whilst a voice niggles, ‘it could have been better’).
All in all a great movie, reminding you how great action can be, and how fucking scary zombies are, do you remember that feeling watching DAWN OF THE DEAD? Well, welcome it back now.
Some doubts dispelled: Danny Boyle has said in interviews he wanted a subtext of the ‘Rage’ being an extrapolation of road rage, there is nothing in the movie showing that thesis. DAWN OF THE DEAD started with a flesh-eating scene that was just to gratuitous for me, that isn’t here - you never quite properly see what’s going on, although the film is full of savage brutality, this is not Paul Verhoeven.
The hero gets bloodied, you know the odds are against him and he shouldn’t survive these encounters, but this is the movies and I for one didn’t want it to end; kinship was established earlier on when they decided to drive into a tunnel and he is screaming ‘FUCK, YOU DON’T WANT TO GO IN THERE’ and we know he’s right – YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO IN THERE.
PS. For those who don’t get rhyming slang, Giraffe = laugh. Also for those who don't know Paul Verhoeven directed Robocop, a scene of which, Murphy's hand being shot off, was replayed again and again by lads at my college, obviously savouring its detail. And this is a film which has just had a directors cut - chiefly involving adding more violence!
PPS. For those who detest profanity, watch LENNY (1974), provide a convincing counter-argument, and I’ll stop.
Now for the Barry 9....
Hello Harry!
Greetings from Blighty. I know you've had a review of the rough cut of 28 days later a while ago, but I've seen the finished product over the weekend and thought you might be interested. Feel free to edit my ramblings.
As you know it's been billed as a zombie flck that's not really a zombie flick. It starts with a bank of t.v. screens showing various graphic news scenes of voilence (war, riots etc.) and pans away to show a chimp tired down and wired up to watch them, a bit like clockwork orange. This is quickly followed by the animal rights campaigners breaking in to free the monkeys only to be caught in the act by one of the scientists who clearly shit scared of what they are planning to release, he desperately pleas with them not to and tries to explain that they have been infected with "Rage" and hardly gets to say any more before they release one of the chimps who instanly goes straight for the woman neck that freed him/her.
This cuts to a Jim a patient in a locked hospital room as he wakes up, he gets out of the room to find the hospital and then London totally deserted, a bit like the scenes in Vanilla Sky only on a lot bigger scale, only scenes of violence and devestation lying around as clues and a newspaper saying that England was being evacuated. The wandering around the empty streets could easily have become boring and prolonged if it wasn't broken up by the incidents with a car and a monument. Finally, Jim enters a church and has his first meeting with the infected and is rescued by a man and a woman (sorry can not remember the names, though I think the man is Steve) who have to blow up a petrol station toget out alive. To cut a long story short, Jim wants to find if his parents are a live or what happened to them, after finding out they meet up with a father (Jackie Gleeson) and his daughter who have come accross a radio message claiming a safe haven and a cure. The next stage of the film becomes a zombie road movie as they travel to Manchester to get to the haven, which is when their problem really start.
When they get to the Haven and meet the few soldiers that are alive they mistakenly think that they are safe until Jim discovers the plans that the Major (Chris Eccleston) has for them.
I won't ruin the ending but will say that it could have benefited from being a bit more down beat.
What I will say is this really is an excellent film. It is more disturbing because of they way they handle the way the explain the virus and how it seems just a little bit to much like it could happen. The performances are all solid. But the best bit's have to be the little detials and actual thought that has gone into it. Just little things such as when Jim get of the hospital bed and disconects the tubes etc from him, he actually bleeds like you would do, it sounds simple but it adds to the realism abnd thats what makes this such an effective film and covers away the stereotypes that you always have in zombie filmsthe other thing is that unlike most zombie films Danny Boyles zombies aren't slow rambling fools but extremely fast moving maniacs that will stop at nothing to get to you.
I can not recommend this film enough and hope that Fox light give it the backing it deserves in the U.S. as it once again shows how more effective you can be on a smaller budget.
The best way I can think of explaining the "Rage" infection is to adjust a sentence from Danny Boyles earlier film "Trainspotting" "It's like the worst anger you've ever had but one hundred times worse."
Cheers,
The Barry 9
