The writer Stephen King, author of “The Shining” and “It – He Came Back” is in adoration of this horror film to the point of having closed an entire cinema to see it!
Twenty years before Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy achieved great success with a film which, proportionally, did not box at all in the same category. With a budget of only 8 million dollars, it brought in 95: it is obviously the horror film 28 Days Later.
The film takes place in a London that has become a ghost town inhabited by “Contaminated”. The latter were victims of an attack by a horde of unleashed chimpanzees carrying a mysterious virus which was being developed in a secret laboratory. Jim wakes up from the coma, discovers the situation and tries to survive…
28 Days Later will finally have a sequel… and even 3!
Warner Bros. Cillian Murphy
When it was released, 28 Days Later had a reputation for being so terrifying that according to the producer of the film Andrew Macdonald, the master of horror Stephen King is said to have bought all the tickets in a cinema, i.e. 800 tickets, to organize a private screening.
It must be said that the Contaminated are very scary, thanks to the choices of director Danny Boyle, who hires athletes to play them, to reinforce their physically threatening side. Thanks to lenses, they appear with bloodshot eyes and exhibit bestial behavior which immediately adds tension to the film: if Jim is discovered, he will join the Contaminated.
Warner Bros.
A Contaminated
The film will have four endings, only one of which truly offers a happy ending. This is the one which will be mainly broadcast in the United States, allowing the film to become a very big success upon its release in 2003. In France, 28 days later will achieve 200,000 admissions after being passed out of competition by the Festival du fantastic film by Gérardmer.
Its sequel, 28 weeks later, without Danny Boyle at the helm, achieved a lower score, with $65 million collected worldwide, including 313,000 admissions from France.
Feast your eyes on Danny Boyle’s most beautiful shots: