28 Days Later

A surprisingly engaging and compelling Horror movie. Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Christopher Eccleston lead a very strong and credible acting cohort, together with the two female newcomers. Very impressed with their capabilities (the former in particular sporting various 'out of character' accents convincingly - two Englishmen and an Irishman, but who's who?). Great acting.

Raises a lot of ethical questions admidst compromising circumstances, much like The Beach. There's also a subtle commentary on the nature of government, the police, and the armed forces. There's emotional pathos too for a few brief moments, but that essentially takes second seat to the blood, horror and apocalyptic overtones that define the movie.

There was ample opportunity for cheese, shmaltzy dialogue, and situations that conform to expectation. But Director Danny Boyle subverts, entertains, and surprises us at almost every turn. Of particular amusement is the curt and direct dismissal of a potential relationship blossoming early on in the movie:'Do you want us to find a cure and save the world, or do you want us to fall in love and fuck? Plans are pointless. Staying alive is as good as it gets.'

The so-called zombies are genuinely terrifying, and are effectively potrayed using all the tricks of the trade, and then some. Heightened for maximum effect.

I'm undecided about the ending. The Director had three options from which to choose from, it seems: one is a happy ending, one is a grim pro-feminist statement, and the last is deliberately ambiguous. The movie shows all three! And whilst that's a unique way to finish - giving the audience a choice of what to accept - it betrays a small lack of confidence on the Director's part, indecisive about one particular ending, and wanting to please everybody. However, I'm a little more consigned to the former view though. It's quite typical for movies to end so singularly, and definitively. Danny Boyle again subverts expectation (also by the manner of its execution) by ending in the way he has chosen - and the movie's all the better for it.

Curious to read more Alex Garland stuff.