Independent Research: Thriller Texts - '28 Days Later'

'28 Days Later' - 2002

Director: Danny Boyle 

Screenplay: Alex Garland

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston 

    About the film:  Animal rights activists free a group of infected chimpanzees to horrifying results. Waking from a coma in a deserted London hospital 28 days later, Jim takes to the deserted city streets in a state of mystified confusion. Joining forces with another group of survivors following a terrifying encounter in a seemingly abandoned church, Jim soon learns the truth behind the deserted streets and the menacing creatures that lurk in the shadows. It's soon revealed that the chimpanzees had been harboring a deadly virus that sends its victims into a furious, murderous rage, and in the days following the initial exposure, the entire population was nearly wiped out due to the resulting homicidal rampage. Is there still a glimmer of hope for humanity - or has the deadly "rage" virus found its way to foreign shores and infected the entire planet? 

    The film opens with images of violence that appear to be taken in different parts of the world. By opening the film with this, it appears to be foreshadowing the later events of infection spreading and people turning against one another - much like in the clips seen here. We later see that the shots are located in a laboratory that is using chimps in their research, due to the chimp we see laying on a medical table with it's chest cut open and organs visible. It is then that we see a group of animal rights activists break in to the laboratory - clad in dark clothing, with the setting being heavily shadowed. This helps to not only make the location seem eerie, but also helps to suggest that something bad is about to happen. Later we see one of the activists being attacked by one of the infected chimps whilst trying to set it free. This shot is filmed on a hand-held camera which helps to enforce the fear and urgency of the character before her death. 

    

    Later, we see the main character Jim - whose just woken up from a coma- exposed, laid in a hospital bed. The fact that Jim is exposed when we first see him could be reflective of the fact that he is quite vulnerable as he isn't aware of what has happened and why; as well as being reflective of the fact that he is completely on his own. He is left in an isolated hospital, which has been overturned and damaged - signifying that something terrible has happened whilst he was in a coma, and had caused everyone to flee. The use of extreme long shots of the main tourist attractions in London whilst Jim is wandering the streets helps to show the audience that there is absolutely no movement at all in one of the busiest cities, reinforcing his isolation and abandonment. The tilt shot used when he is walking through the isolated streets shows the confusion and disorientation the character is feeling at this new and unnerving turn of events. 

    The Church location Jim wanders to after leaving the hospital was used in a very interesting way. As soon as he enters we can see that the building is very dark and heavily shadowed - once again indication that something is not quite right- and is very still and quiet, uncomfortably so. This could be very significant as it could suggest that no religion or faith will help anyone and that there is no escape; as we later find out it hasn't as Jim's first encounter with the virus comes in the form of the priest from the church. 

    After meeting another survivor - Selena- they come across a block of flats in an urban location, covered in graffiti and barricaded with a massive pile of stolen supermarket trolleys; which helps to reinforce the connotations of urban areas, which is a generic thriller location. Similarly, another generic thriller location is the large staircase within the tower block that the two are chased up, building the tension and suspense within the audience. They then travel in a car -the interior of which being another generic thriller location- with the two new survivors from the tower block; a young girl named Hannah and her father Frank. Similar to that in 'Essex Boys', their journey takes them down a large, dark tunnel of which you cannot see the other side, possibly foreshadowing the fact that their journey may not end well; which is later seen with Frank being infected, a group of soldiers who try to rape Selena and Hannah with the intention to try and restart humanity, and who also attempt to kill Jim.