28 Days Later

Alex Palmer, Bindu De Stoppani, Brendan Gleeson

After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks of screens displaying horrifying, violent images. Ignoring the warning...( read more  read more... )s of the terrified researcher who maintains that the chimps are infected, they begin to free the animals and are immediately subjected to a bloody attack from the enraged creatures. Twenty-eight days later, Cycle courier Jim awakes from a coma in the deserted intensive care unit of a London hospital. He wanders out into a church where he finds dead bodies piled in heaps on the chapel floor. A sudden explosion from a makeshift bomb heralds the arrival of fellow "survivors" Selina and Mark. They take Jim to safety and explain to him that this infection is transmitted by blood and overwhelms the infected victim with a murderous rage within seconds. Britain has been overrun, and they have no way of knowing if it has spread worldwide. Their only hope of survival may lie in the hands of a Manchester group of soldiers, as they 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, unaware that the worst is yet to come.

Flixster Users

82% liked it

Critics

88% liked it

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Released: June 27, 2003

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DVD Released: October 21, 2003

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Top Flixster Reviews


  • April 18, 2009
    An extremely effective horror film. The digital cinematography combined with Boyle's direction provide this film with a chilling realism.
  • January 19, 2009
    About time I got around to seeing this! 28 Days Later is one of the most evocative, visually creative movies in 21st century horror, a ruminative dystopia flick with a master director at the helm. Spare, commanding and intelligent, it haunts again and again, not with overuse of j... ...( read more )
  • January 13, 2009
    The thing that started fast zombies. Technically though, these are not zombies, but victims of the Rage virus. So OK here, not so OK if you want to go full Zombie. (Alright, I've made an exception for Synder's Dawn of the Dead remake. It doesn't make sense, but if you go with it,... ...( read more )
  • January 4, 2009
    The best and scariest horror film I've ever seen. Since Trainspotting, Danny Boyle has been critiqued as a filmmaker who will pioneer changes in contemporary cinema. Now he has fulfilled that promise. Not only a great horror film, 28 Days Later demonstrates the capabilities of... ...( read more )
  • October 28, 2008
    "His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't."

    Animal rights activists free a group of infected chimpanzees to horrifying results in this speculative sci-fi horror effort from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle. Waking from a coma i... ...( read more )
  • July 3, 2009
    I know that no film about zombies can be taken seriously but I just found it so far fetched it was sad. Oh & very predictable!

Critic Reviews


View more 28 Days La... reviews at RottenTomatoes.com
June 27, 2003
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

It's unpleasant stuff, told without winks or humor, and it's so perfectly pitched that you can't take your eyes off it, even if this sort of hard-edged horror isn't exactly your cup of Diet Coke. full review

June 27, 2003
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It has eerie images, a compelling situation and an unusual capacity to surprise. full review

June 27, 2003
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A tough, smart, ingenious movie that leads its characters into situations where everything depends on their (and our) understanding of human nature. full review

June 27, 2003
David Edelstein, Slate

The movie is derivative as hell, but it's also blazingly well-made, and it moves at a ferocious clip. full review

June 26, 2003
Claudia Puig, USA Today

An edge-of-your-seat scary movie that startles and chills. full review

June 26, 2003
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

As a parable of human nature under extreme duress, 28 Days Later is never less than interesting. full review

June 26, 2003
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Set in an evacuated London decimated by a virus, the film, shot with nerve-frying effectiveness on digital video -- creeps you out big-time. full review

June 26, 2003
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

A taut, terrifying thriller that will turn you asthmatic with dread. full review

Comments


  • Megggyy
    June 30, 2008
    hah 28 months?
  • snake65
    December 14, 2007
    what a brilliant film, i cant wait until 28 months later to come out
  • badgirl12342
    November 21, 2007
    FUCKIN LOV3 DIS MOVI3 1ST TIM3 I ATCH3D IT WAS IN TH3 CIN3MA AND I SHIT MAS3LF LOL
    WIKD MOVI3 ISDA BST X X X
  • ikjotrana
    August 14, 2007
    very good movie. Quite different from other films of the same genre.In american zombie films, theres only fighting and killing zombies from start to end without much of a story line. but in this , there is a very strong story line , very realistic, obvious, no dumb stunts , effects or corny dialogues.
    the empty london scene in the beginning of the movie was my favourite part.it was so beautiful, (quite like fantasy). Any 1 notices the music going on in that scent?? amazing!!
    my other favourite part was when the survivors were driving to manchester . the photography, acting, ect was so beautifully european (american movies can't do that). U actually get so attached with the survivors.
    The scenes after the zombie killings by the army were below my expectations(i feel the director could have used more imagination)
    The last scene was again beautiful!!!
  • heycutthatout
    July 29, 2007
    A great insight to what could happen in this day and age..... Biological Warfare. made me think about what could happen if russia or china ect. made a biological bomb and dropped it in the heart of london. amazing plot, even though the story turns halfway through the movie amazing. the rough camera shots and the screen shots made me believe a story like this could happen. 5/5!
  • IsufferFromMSI
    July 28, 2007
    This is what annoys me. Zombies are the dead, who have risen to an airborne virus. The "Infected" in 28 days Later are Rage Victims, those who have gotton infected caused by a bite on the arm. Get your facts right
  • Tomo619
    July 5, 2007
    This what Resident Evil should have been! Not that sack of crap directed by a sack of crap (Paul W S Anderscum).
    It had a lot of elements from the Resident Evil games unlike the actual Resident Evil movies which the only thing they shared with the games was character names and a couple of creatures.
  • pbol
    June 26, 2007
    awsome movie and for all you ppl that say its a zombie movie jesus it isnt!!!!!gah they pick up a friggin virus from evil monkeys and bleed through their mouthes and infect other ppl and they will not hesitate to bite the crap out of you ,doesnt sound like zombies to me(well maybe a little bit)but !!for the record they dont die and come back to life to feed on the living!! jees brush up on zombie history and at least watch dan of the dead !!
  • MissBexeh
    June 25, 2007
    Who cares if it was named a 'zombie movie' it was brilliant! It was so weird, and it did make me feel so uncomfortable, just imagining if i was there and what id do, just strange. I liked where they found the army base, and it was an excellent twist to them making them feel safe then telling them the girls would be used to reproduce. The only bit i hated was where cillian murphy stuck his thumbs in that guys eye sockets...that really did make me heave. The start was a bit confusing for me, but other than that an all round brill movie. Watch it!
  • tannerscott02
    June 20, 2007
    this movie is great. it's the best zombie movie ever made

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