| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B+ |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
B+ |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Scary in Many Ways
by M.E.H (movies profile)
Apr 19, 2007
30
of
39 people found this review helpful
28 Days Later is probably one of the few horror films to have a message attached to it. It doesn't preach to you, nor is the message a particularly obvious one in the plot. While this isn't one of the reasons why such a high grade was received, I did think that it would be noteworthy in my review.
The plot is creative, although there are many gaps in logic that have been pointed out by several in this forum. With those various gaps set aside, however, you're in for a scare. All horror movies are rather far-fetched in many aspects, and 28 Days Later is not an exception.
The acting is exceptional for a movie with a smaller budget than most feature films in Hollywood. Of course, Brendan Gleeson is marvelous in the role of Frank, as is Christopher Eccleston in the role of Major West. The hindrance is Naomi Harris as Selena. While she develops her character really well, she doesn't give the right sort of emphasis needed in several of her lines. Cillian Murphy is the star in his acting, though. He made me feel as if he was really Jim instead of some actor I was watching on a screen.
The direction is noteworthy because everything went together at a perfect pace. We were allowed our time to get to know certain characters while a plot was actually unfolding in front of us.
The film was shot with a digital camera, so there's a bit of a grainy view, which fits in with the gritty sense we are supposed to get with this film. I found the fake bloody vomit a bit excessive (hence the low rating) but I guess it had some utility.
The message that I found noteworthy is something that hits you when you take the film into context. In the times of avian flu, Ebola, Mad Cow Disease, and various other infectious diseases that kill, 28 Days Later really strikes a cord. I thought that it was an interesting way of remarking about epidemics of certain illnesses. Given how many of these illnesses are spread with human contact, it leads to various questions about how many more epidemics there are going to be and if any are going to be as severe as the one depicted in 28 Days Later.
I recommend this film to people who want to see a horror film that isn't as cliched as others, but I would advise the squeamish to skip this one unless they have a date or friend with them. |
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