28 DAYS LATER

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendon Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston
Director: Danny Boyle
Running Time: 117 mins
Certificate: 18

Out to buy on DVD 19th May

Trying to free a group of apes, which are been experimented on, a group of animal rights campaigners unwittingly release a deadly virus called Rage. Twenty-eight days later, Jim (Murphy) awakes in a hospital bed. Finding no one in the building, he walks out into London to find the capital totally deserted.

Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and The Beach, makes a zombie movie. If that isn't enough to get you excited about this film then I don't know what will.

Taking the genre that George A. Romero made his own and giving it a modern twist, Boyle delivers the movie that Resident Evil should have been, bloody, violent and damm scary. The first act is superb, painting a picture of complete devastation coupled with Jim's realisation that everything in his world has gone. The characters are thrusted upon you as you learn, with Jim, the plight of civilisation and what people have had to do to survive. A barren and deserted London is sets the scene magnificently and pushes home the extremes of the plague.

The cast are top notch. It could have been so easy to play this very tongue-in-cheek but Boyle has taken a more serious look at how ordinary people would cope with this extreme situation by reverting back to basic survival instincts. Relative newcomers Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris, as Jim and Selena, are very impressive bringing a sense of realism and believability to their roles. The underrated Brendon Gleeson as Frank and the always-excellent Christopher Eccleston provide good support and young Megan Burns is another impressive child actress.

It does have its problems however. The second act loses most of the dramatic tension built up so superbly in the first part of the movie and drags the film into madness and a survivalist struggle that seems to deter from the main emphasis of the story. Yes the survival instinct needs to be explored but I don't think that madness of this extreme would materialize with less than a month. I also don't know about the use of Digital video as this seems make the movie's low budget origins all the more visible. These slight flaws should not deter you however, as the final act makes up for all of these short falls by providing a terrifying climax but also a sense of hope.

British filmmaking is going back to what it does best, making extremely good horror movies. They are strong character driven pieces that rely more on story than special effects and gore, showing Hollywood that Horror is more than just a killer in a mask and a load of dead teenagers.

Audio commentary by director Danny Boyle and Alex Garland
Storyboard alternative ending
8 deleted scenes with optional commentary
'Pure Rage: The Making Of 28 Days Later' (24 mins)
Jacknife Lee music video
Stills gallery with commentary
Polaroid gallery with commentary
Animated storyboards
Theatrical teaser & Theatrical trailer
Interactive menu & Scene access