But what made the infected of 28 Days Later so terrifying was that they could run just as fast to catch up to you. Prior to this movie, zombies (and infected) had historically moved at a very slow pace, due to the assumption that rigor mortis would have started to set in, thus slowing them down. It is by technical definition a sci-fi “infected” post apocalyptic film, but for all intents, purposes, and practicalities, it is thematically and tonally identical to a zombie film. Let’s get this out of the way, yes 28 Days Later is technically not a zombie film in that it doesn’t deal with undead or reanimated corpses coming to life. The soldiers holed up at the base thought nothing of disposing of Jim and forcing themselves on Selina and Hannah, because at that point they had completely lost their humanity, an idea that the world struggled with during that decade. But rather the depraved depths that fellow humans will go to when pushed to desperation. In fact, the most disturbing part of 28 Days Later isn’t even the attacks by the infected. The cast said that it felt very strange and almost uncomfortable to be filming a scene where they’re celebrating, knowing what was happening that day. The champagne scene was actually filmed on September 11, 2001. After all, it’s an act of terrorism (albeit ecoterrorism) that causes the outbreak of the rage virus to begin with. The public seemed to be subconsciously concerned with the breakdown of society, and in many ways, 28 Days Later fit into that trend.Įven though it was in production already when 9/11 occurred, 28 Days Later very much captured those same fears and anxieties of the world we knew suddenly and swiftly falling apart. It’s no surprise that in the wake of 9/11, the following decade was filled with horror films that dealt with “torture porn”, as well as a resurgence of zombies. Not only did it start a new trend of zombie films, but it arguably helped shape the found footage movement, as well as created a new trope that still lasts in the genre today. This was until another massive boom in the 2000’s/2010’s that saw the likes of Shaun of the Dead, a remake of Dawn of the Dead, Zombieland, The Walking Dead, Warm Bodies, World War Z, and so many more.Īnd this new trend arguably began with Danny Boyle’s 2002 indie hit, 28 Days Later. Prior to that they were primarily associated with Hatian folklore.Īnd while there were a slew of zombie films in the 70’s and 80’s, including some from Romero himself, by the time the 90’s came around the genre was all but dead (no pun intended). His 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead not only took the world by storm, but it established many of the tropes that we now associate with zombies. Romero to thank for creating what we now know as the modern zombie genre.
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