With28 Years Latercoming out this year, now is the perfect time to rewatch28 Days Later. The story of28 Days Laterfollows Jim, a bicycle courier who goes into a coma after an accident and wakes up 28 days afterthe Rage Virus led to a zombie-like outbreakthroughout the United Kingdom. Upon its release, reviews for28 Days Laterwere exceptional, and the film currently has a score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (viaRotten Tomatoes). The cast of28 Days Laterincludes Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eccleston.
Watching Jim walking through a ravaged London and encountering the infected was thrilling in 2002. However, 23 years after the film’s release, many of the attributes that once made28 Days Latergreat are not as effective.28 Days Lateris one of thebest zombie movies ever, but many of the tropes it has created have also been seen in other films and television shows. Therefore, even though now is the perfect time to rewatch it before theupcoming28 Years Later,28 Days Lateris now a more difficult watch.
28 Days Later Changed The Horror Genre Forever
28 Days Later Is An Amazing Horror Movie
28 Days Laterwas revolutionary to the horror genre.28 Days Laterhelped to change how horror movies were made. Many immature and goofy horror movies were being produced in the late 1990s.28 Days Latercame out a time when horror movies relied on cheap tricks and jump scares to get a reaction out of audiences. While28 Days Lateralso has jump scares, it is a much more mature and character-driven horror film than many that came before it. Therefore,28 Days Laterproved that mature, character-based horror films could be successful in the 21st century.
28 Days Laternot only reinvigorated the zombie genre and led to zombies being a mainstay in the 21st century, but it was also the first movie to include some of the genres most common tropes.
Additionally,28 Days Laterpaved the way for modern zombie movies and television shows. The infected in28 Days Laterare never actually referred to as zombies, and are actually the result of the Rage Virus being released, but it is undoubtedly one of the best zombie movies ever.28 Days Laternot only reinvigorated the zombie genre and led to zombies being a mainstay in the 21st century, but it was also the first movie to include some of the most common tropes in the genre.
28 Days Later Feels Like Twenty Three Years Worth Of Zombie Movies
So Many Zombie Movies & Shows Have Copied 28 Days Later
Seeing an infected-filled London through the eyes of a confused Jim was terrifying in28 Days Later. This was so effective that Jim waking up from a coma and discovering a whole new world was repeated inThe Walking Dead, which is arguably the most popular zombie series of the 21st century. Discovering a zombie apocalypse for the first time through the eyes of someone who has no idea what’s going on is genius, which is whyThe Walking Deadessentially copied28 Days Later’sopening sequence.
Cillian Murphy’s 28 Years Later Return Can Finally Make Up For 28 Days Later’s Ending Mistake
Jim’s role in 28 Years Later can make up for an alternate version of 28 Days Later’s ending that was not used for the theatrical release of the movie.
In most modern zombie movies and TV shows, massive post-apocalyptic cities are featured, hordes of the dead are encountered, and themes such as “man is the true monster” are explored. While these ideas have been present for years in zombie-related projects, they were all relatively new when28 Days Laterwas released. This is whyall of28 Days Later’shorrifying sequences and twists worked so well in 2002.
28 Days Later Is A Victim Of Its Own Success
28 Days Later Has Led To A Major Franchise
Since28 Days Laterwas such an influential movie, it now feels overly familiar on a rewatch. This is a result of28 Days Laterbeing such a foundational movie in the zombie genre that other movies and shows haven’t been able to avoid replicating it. Therefore,it’s not necessarily a bad thing that28 Days Lateris arguably slightly worse now than it was in 2002. After all, if it wasn’t such an effective and well-received movie, then films like28 Weeks Laterand the upcoming28 Years Laterwouldn’t have ever been made.
It has been teased that Cillian Murphy’s Jim, who first appeared in28 Days Later, will return in the28 Years Latertrilogy.
This also applies to other zombie movies. 21st century zombie movies such asDawn of the DeadandWorld War Zpossibly wouldn’t have been made if28 Days Laterdidn’t prove that it was possible to tell a complex and horrifying story in the zombie genre. Therefore, it’s clear that28 Days Lateris a victim of its own success. However, it’s great that28 Days Laterlaid the groundwork for what is now a major franchise that is about to receive several new movies in the form of the28 Years Latertrilogy.
