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Movies / On DVD / 28 Days Later
28 Days Later

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28 Days Later (2003)

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Reviews Counted:196

Fresh:173

Rotten:23

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: 28 Days Later is both a terrifying zombie movie and a sharp political allegory.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks of screens displaying horrifically violent images. Ignoring the... After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks of screens displaying horrifically violent images. Ignoring the warnings of the terrified researcher who maintains the chimps are 'infected', they begin to free the animals and are immediately subjected to a bloody attack from the enraged creatures. 28 days later… Cycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma in the deserted intensive care unit of a London hospital. Mystified, he wanders the wards and corridors in search of others and eventually heads into the city streets, calling out for help. As the shadows lengthen Jim seeks shelter in a church only to find dead bodies piled in heaps on the chapel floor. A sudden noise alerts him to the presence of a priest but his lightening speed, blood stained eyes and murderous screams send Jim reeling into the street. More "infected" are attracted by the noise and Jim runs in panic and confusion as a growing flock sprint after him through the dark streets. A sudden explosion from a makeshift bomb heralds the arrival of fellow "survivors" Selena (NAOMIE HARRIS) and Mark (NOAH HUNTLEY). Following a daring rescue they take Jim to safety and start to explain to him the nature of the infection, that it is transmitted in the blood, is overwhelming within seconds, that Britain has been overrun and that they have no way of knowing if it has spread worldwide. Selena and Mark reluctantly agree to help the shell-shocked Jim return home to Deptford to find his parents, with terrifying consequences. Later, as they sneak through the darkened streets, Selena and Jim spot a lone light in a tower block and investigate to see if there are other survivors. The unlikely pair they find are father and daughter Frank (BRENDAN GLEESON) and Hannah (MEGAN BURNS) whose water supplies are running dangerously low and are desperate to find alternative shelter. As the group takes shelter in the tower block, an automated radio broadcast is picked up. A Manchester-based group of soldiers, led by Major Henry West (CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON), claim to have the 'answer' to infection and invite any survivors to join them at their blockade. Faced with no practical alternative, the group sets out northwards in Frank's black cab unaware that the worst is yet to come. Directed by Danny Boyle, 28 DAYS LATER is from an original screenplay by Alex Garland, the author of The Beach, and produced by Andrew Macdonald. The film stars Cillian Murphy (DISCO PIGS), Naomie Harris (WHITE TEETH), Christopher Eccleston (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, THE OTHERS, SHALLOW GRAVE), Megan Burns (LIAM) and Brendan Gleeson (THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, THE GENERAL, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A.I). [More]

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson, Luke Mably

Director: Danny Boyle

Director: Danny Boyle
Screenwriter: Alex Garland
Producer: Andrew MacDonald
Composer: John Murphy
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for 28 Days Later

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The zippy, brutal action sequences are gripping, the violence sometimes shocking.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/06/02
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Should someone with four films under his belt really be regressing to the point where he is making a cheap horror flick that resembles nothing so much as a British Fifties B-movie?

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 1 Comment
11/12/02
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Boyle has crafted a good-looking DV film that carries a powerful message within an exciting, horrifying adventure story.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
11/06/02
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
FilmFour.com

It flags during the encampment scenes, with some redundant gore, but this is a muscular, virile piece of film-making from Boyle.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/19/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a gory, depressing affair that bears an ultra-Darwinian message in its blood-stained hands.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 3 Comments
09/26/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

This gruesome plotting combines with the gritty visual style to make the film an unsettling, creepy experience, complete with very strange sound editing and eerie musical choices that accent the offbeat post-apocalyptic imagery remarkably.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/06/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

'Flee! Flee in terror from the Turbo-Zombies!'

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
10/31/02
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
Teletext

Danny Boyle has got his edge back.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ugly, uncomfortable, gory, loud and sick. In other words, it works.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
11/05/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Impressive, atmospheric and VERY scary.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/06/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This movie will still be on my mind 28 days later.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
09/19/03
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Yes, the rage-afflicted zombie substitutes are scary. But 28 DAYS LATER is even more frightening for what human beings end up doing to one another.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
12/19/02
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

This is an effective examination of what survival really entails – and it knows that the answers aren’t necessarily pleasant.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
07/24/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

An agoraphobic New Age.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
08/30/03
Jon Lap
Jon Lap
Apollo Guide

It’s Boyle’s fleer at the Information Age, where physical survival’s place in the pyramid is smallest -- a snicker at those to whom a gagging error-message online is tragedy.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/13/05
James Lap
James Lap
Apollo Guide

Someone must have forgotten to tell director Danny Boyle the unwritten rules of movie zombies.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/26/03
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Has enough chills and thrills -- as well as plenty of nearly dead creatures -- to rank among the scariest and most ingenious horror movies in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/26/03
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

These B-movie thrills in post-apocalyptic England would make George Romero proud.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/26/03
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

... it’s just so unpretentious and terrifying – with cheeky moments of humor ... you relish the fun as you jump out of your skin.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
02/08/04
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

In its blessed stretches of quietude, 28 Days Later offers a heartfelt rumination on humans’ ability to build new families when old ones are lost.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/01/03
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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Latest News for 28 Days Later

October 06, 2008: A Director for 28 Months Later? Opens in new window
Who is Paul Andrew Williams, and why is his name being bandied about in connection with "28 Months Later"? Follow the link to find out! More...

September 12, 2008: Another 28 for Danny Boyle? Opens in new window
Could there possibly be a second sequel to "28 Days Later"? Danny Boyle thinks so, although he seems worried that his idea might be silly. More...

May 06, 2008: Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks
The Doomsday director runs RT through the movies that inspired his cyber-punk vision of a dodgy future. More...

October 10, 2007: RT's Top 50 Horror Movie List Unmasked
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