Though A Quiet Place Part II starring
Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy has, at
the time SciFiNow was going to print,
been indefi nitely delayed due to the
Coronavirus, when we spoke to Cillian
recently about the sequel we couldn’t help but
mention the similarities to the world featured
in A Quiet Place and one which featured in
a previous role of his – that of Jim in 28 Days
Later, back in 2002.
28 Days Later was a very early role for
the Irish actor, who had mainly starred in
TV and short fi lms before that, but it was a
performance that would bring him to the
fore – a passionate and relatable portrayal of
everyman Jim that would enhance the realistic
horror depicted in the fi lm.
Written by Alex Garland – who would
go on to direct and write the screenplay for
Netfl ix sci-fi hit Annihilation, as well as create
upcoming hulu’s sci-fi drama Devs – the story
follows Jim who, after a bicycle accident,
wakes up in an empty London hospital in
a world reeling from the aftermath of a
devastating virus that had been unwittingly
released by animal activists 28 days prior.
As Jim desperately searches for answers
in a seemingly deserted London, director
Danny Boyle amps up the atmosphere by
portraying famous landmarks such as Big Ben
and Piccadilly Circus deserted and devastated- photos of loved ones are plastered across
billboards, Bible passages are scribbled
across church walls (‘the end is extremely
fucking nigh!’) and red buses are on their
sides. The fi lm was shot during early hours of
the morning to depict the desolate city and the
image of Jim walking across an empty London
Bridge is iconic and unsettling.
This unsettling atmosphere is elevated by
the fi lm’s excellent score by composer John
Murphy, who also composed music for Boyle’s
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK ON DANNY BOYLE’S ATMOSPHERIC
ZOMBIE-THAT’S-NOT-A-ZOMBIE-FILM THAT CREATED A RESURGENCEIN THE GENRE AND GAVE THE UNDEAD SOME RUNNING LEGS!
WORDS RACHAEL HARPERRETRO CLASSIC
28 DAYS LATER
subsequent sci-fi thriller Sunshine (also starring
Cillian Murphy and written by Alex Garland)
and the fi lm’s 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later.
Jim soon fi nds out that he isn’t quite as alone
as he thought – those infected by the virus are
still roaming the streets but they aren’t quite
human anymore. They are fi lled with pure
rage and they’re also extremely contagious –
if their blood or saliva mixes with yours, you’ll
quickly be turned yourself.
And you certainly don’t want that. The
infected in 28 Days Later are terrifying – gone
are the slow, lumbering zombies as depicted
in George A Romero’s seminal Night Of The
Living Dead. Instead, the infected can run as
fast as you can and they’re spurred on by aneed for frenzied violence, frantically clawing
and biting their way through their afterlife.
Hooking up with fellow survivors Selena
(Naomie Harris) and father and daughter
Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah
(Megan Burns), Jim searchers for the “answer
to infection” that has been promised on a
mysterious radio broadcast that leads him to
an army base where he fi nds out the infected
aren’t the only ones to worry about...
28 Days Later was a pretty big departure
from Boyle’s previous fi lm, The Beach, which
was based on Garland’s novel, but his ability
to build tension is apparent in both. 28 Days
Later is laced with beautiful moments of calm
before calamity ensues – the director isn’t088 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
28 DAYS LATER
RETRO CLASSIC
There is a real makeshift
family element to the fi lm.“28 DAYS LATER IS LACED WITH BEAUTIFUL
MOMENTS OF CALM BEFORE CALAMITY”
Though A Quiet Place Part II starring
Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy has, at
the time SciFiNow was going to print,
been indefi nitely delayed due to the
Coronavirus, when we spoke to Cillian
recently about the sequel we couldn’t help but
mention the similarities to the world featured
in A Quiet Place and one which featured in
a previous role of his – that of Jim in 28 Days
Later, back in 2002.
28 Days Later was a very early role for
the Irish actor, who had mainly starred in
TV and short fi lms before that, but it was a
performance that would bring him to the
fore – a passionate and relatable portrayal of
everyman Jim that would enhance the realistic
horror depicted in the fi lm.
Written by Alex Garland – who would
go on to direct and write the screenplay for
Netfl ix sci-fi hit Annihilation, as well as create
upcoming hulu’s sci-fi drama Devs – the story
follows Jim who, after a bicycle accident,
wakes up in an empty London hospital in
a world reeling from the aftermath of a
devastating virus that had been unwittingly
released by animal activists 28 days prior.
As Jim desperately searches for answers
in a seemingly deserted London, director
Danny Boyle amps up the atmosphere by
portraying famous landmarks such as Big Ben
and Piccadilly Circus deserted and devastated- photos of loved ones are plastered across
billboards, Bible passages are scribbled
across church walls (‘the end is extremely
fucking nigh!’) and red buses are on their
sides. The fi lm was shot during early hours of
the morning to depict the desolate city and the
image of Jim walking across an empty London
Bridge is iconic and unsettling.
This unsettling atmosphere is elevated by
the fi lm’s excellent score by composer John
Murphy, who also composed music for Boyle’s
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK ON DANNY BOYLE’S ATMOSPHERIC
ZOMBIE-THAT’S-NOT-A-ZOMBIE-FILM THAT CREATED A RESURGENCEIN THE GENRE AND GAVE THE UNDEAD SOME RUNNING LEGS!
WORDS RACHAEL HARPERRETRO CLASSIC
28 DAYS LATER
subsequent sci-fi thriller Sunshine (also starring
Cillian Murphy and written by Alex Garland)
and the fi lm’s 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later.
Jim soon fi nds out that he isn’t quite as alone
as he thought – those infected by the virus are
still roaming the streets but they aren’t quite
human anymore. They are fi lled with pure
rage and they’re also extremely contagious –
if their blood or saliva mixes with yours, you’ll
quickly be turned yourself.
And you certainly don’t want that. The
infected in 28 Days Later are terrifying – gone
are the slow, lumbering zombies as depicted
in George A Romero’s seminal Night Of The
Living Dead. Instead, the infected can run as
fast as you can and they’re spurred on by aneed for frenzied violence, frantically clawing
and biting their way through their afterlife.
Hooking up with fellow survivors Selena
(Naomie Harris) and father and daughter
Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah
(Megan Burns), Jim searchers for the “answer
to infection” that has been promised on a
mysterious radio broadcast that leads him to
an army base where he fi nds out the infected
aren’t the only ones to worry about...
28 Days Later was a pretty big departure
from Boyle’s previous fi lm, The Beach, which
was based on Garland’s novel, but his ability
to build tension is apparent in both. 28 Days
Later is laced with beautiful moments of calm
before calamity ensues – the director isn’t088 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
28 DAYS LATER
RETRO CLASSIC
There is a real makeshift
family element to the fi lm.“28 DAYS LATER IS LACED WITH BEAUTIFUL
MOMENTS OF CALM BEFORE CALAMITY”