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Movies / Upcoming / 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

US Box Office: $44,900,469

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 rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For a good majority of this film's runtime it is really great stuff and definitely worth seeing whether your a genre fan or not.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/22/03
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Boyle can't quite come up with anything to match the eerie brilliance of his opening. Never mind. It's all you need to see that his career is finally back on track.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
09/05/03
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/02/03
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/03/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

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Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

An overlong horror film with next to no scares and nothing new to add to the zombie genre.

Full Review Source: Juicy Cerebellum | comment Comment
06/22/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Detestable, not just because its action is so vile or its technique so crude, but because its moral imagination is so impoverished.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 1 Comment
06/27/03
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I applaud the film's acting, impulse and construction, but there's a third act narrative choice that badly miscalculates the realistic interplay of its subjects and timeline, effectively sabotaging the momentum and integrity of the film.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
07/01/03
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

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]

The scariest thing about Danny Boyle's film is the surprisingly large percentage of people seemingly infected by its cheap and shoddy plagiarism.

Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment 4 Comments
07/25/03
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
Movie Boeuf

Its power lies in how topical is its message.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/21/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A faux-low-budget zombie pic by director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland that shows a rather arrogant disdain for its audience in between occasional flashes of flair.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 4 Comments
01/30/03
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A movie that's creepy and truly suspenseful in some places, unintentionally comic or plain awful in others.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
06/27/03
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Holds a handful of chilling scenes and unforgettable images, but its cumulative effect is one of disappointment and missed opportunities.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
06/27/03
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Relentlessly grim and gruesome, it does what it sets out to do; the problem is that apparently what it wants isn't so much to give us a pleasant scare as to disgust us.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
06/25/03
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

The operatic gore eventually goes over the top.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
06/27/03
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

In its defense, 28 Days Later does reveal the occasional inspired moment.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
06/27/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

A bloody disappointment.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
06/26/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Apparently the legacy of the Blair Witch phenomenon is the belief in filmmakers that visuals aren't important and incoherency is scarier than anything viewers can actually comprehend.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
05/09/03
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
 
 
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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...

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