User:NRobinson22/28 Days Later

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28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland, and starring Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson. The plot depicts the breakdown of society following a pandemic caused by the accidental release of a highly contagious, rage-inducing virus while focusing on the struggle of four survivors (Murphy, Harris, Burns, and Gleeson) coping with the destruction of the life they knew prior, and evading those infected by the virus.

28 Days Later was released and received critical acclaim on November 1, 2002. It was a financial success, grossing more than $82.7 million worldwide on its modest budget of $8 million, and becoming one of the most profitable horror films of 2002.

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Plot:

A highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus called "Rage" is unleashed in Great Britain after an infected chimpanzee is freed by a group of animal liberation activists. It rapidly spreads among the populace resulting in societal collapse. Twenty-eight days after the initial outbreak, bicycle courier Jim awakens from a coma in St. Thomas' Hospital in London, which has been deserted with signs of catastrophe. After Jim's first encounter with the infected, he is rescued by survivors Selena and Mark. At Jim's request, the group travels to his parents' house in Deptford, where he learns that they committed suicide. That night, Mark is bitten during an attack, prompting Selena to kill him before he transforms.

Jim and Selena encounter a cab driver named Frank and his daughter, Hannah, at Balfron Tower, from whom they discover a military broadcast offering protection at a blockade in Manchester. With supplies dwindling, Frank asks Jim and Selena to accompany him and Hannah to the blockade, which they accept. The group, then, travels to Manchester in Frank's cab, but upon arriving, they find the blockade deserted. As the group struggles to plot their next move, Frank becomes infected when a drop of blood falls into his eye. The soldiers arrive shorty after and kill Frank.

The remaining survivors are brought to a fortified mansion under the command of Major Henry West; however, the safety promised by the soldiers is corrupt. West reveals to Jim that the broadcast was intended to lure female survivors into sexual enslavement to repopulate the world. The soldiers attempt to kill Jim after he refuses to be complicit with their plan, but Jim escapes. After luring West away from the mansion, Jim releases an infected soldier named Private Mailer who had been kept in chains for observation and is later used as the weapon that kills West's men. Jim, Selena, and Hannah attempt to leave in Frank's cab, but West sneaks into the back seat and shoots Jim. Hannah retaliates by putting the cab in reverse, allowing Mailer to pull West through the rear window and kill him, while the three survivors drive off.

In another 28 days, Jim recovers at a remote cottage in Cumbria, where the infected are shown dying of starvation. As a Finnish fighter jet flies overhead, Jim, Selena, and Hannah unfurl a huge cloth banner spelling the word "Hello." The three survivors optimistically watch the jet as the pilot spots them.

Alternate Endings:

The DVD extra include three alternative endings, all of which conclude with Jim's death. In the first alternate ending, Jim died from his gunshot wounds. In another, the outbreak is revealed as a dream. The third, a more radical departure, was presented only in storyboards. Instead of Frank being killed by soldiers after being infected, the other survivors tie him up and discover a research laboratory at the blockade, where Jim undergoes a blood transfusion in order to save Frank. The U.S. cinematic release included one of the alternative endings after the film's credits in response to intense online debate over whether or not which ending was more appropriate than the official ending.

Cultural Impact:

28 Days Later had an impact on horror films, and was credited with starting a revival of the zombie genre, along with the Resident Evil Franchise. Many praised Boyle's direction, the performances, Garland's screenplay, atmosphere, and soundtrack. Boyle stated in the movie press kit that the people are victims of a virus that enhances their rage thus transforming them into frenzied cannibals. Though Boyle has rejected it as a zombie film, 28 Days Later has reinvigorated the zombie genre of horror, with its fast-running infected and character-driven drama.

The 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, for example, was influenced by 28 Days Later. 28 Days Later was followed by other films such as Shaun of the Dead (2004), Black Sheep (2006), Planet Terror (2007), Dead Snow (2009), and Zombieland (2009), as well as books such as World War Z (2006), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009), and Warm Bodies (2010), and zombie-themed graphic novels and television shows such as The Walking Dead. The zombie revival trend lasted for more than a decade after 28 Days Later, before eventually declining in popularity by the late 2010s.

In 2007, 28 Days Later was followed by a sequel entitled 28 Weeks Later, inspired by the graphic novel, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath; which expands on the timeline of the outbreak. In 2009, the 28 Days Later comic book series was released, and in 2017, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out Magazine ranked it the 97th-best British film ever.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, images of a national lockdown in the United Kingdom and stay-at-home orders elsewhere were compared to the opening sequence in 28 Days Later. In 2021, Megan Burns said of the film, "When I joined the cast of 28 Days Later, I had no idea of how big a cultural impact it would have and what a game-changed it would be to the 'zombie' genre. Even now after all these years, (or perhaps especially no with the current situation) people want to talk about the film and that's incredible,"