With 28 Years Later coming out this year, now is the perfect time to rewatch 28 Days Later. The story of 28 Days Later follows Jim, a bicycle courier who goes into a coma after an accident and wakes up 28 days after the Rage Virus led to a zombie-like outbreak throughout the United Kingdom. Upon its release, reviews for 28 Days Later were exceptional, and the film currently has a score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes). The cast of 28 Days Later includes 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 made 28 Days Later great are not as effective. 28 Days Later is one of the best 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 the upcoming 28 Years Later, 28 Days Later is now a more difficult watch.
28 Days Later Changed The Horror Genre Forever
28 Days Later Is An Amazing Horror Movie
28 Days Later was revolutionary to the horror genre. 28 Days Later helped to change how horror movies were made. Many immature and goofy horror movies were being produced in the late 1990s. 28 Days Later came out a time when horror movies relied on cheap tricks and jump scares to get a reaction out of audiences. While 28 Days Later also has jump scares, it is a much more mature and character-driven horror film than many that came before it. Therefore, 28 Days Later proved that mature, character-based horror films could be successful in the 21st century.
28 Days Later not 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 Later paved the way for modern zombie movies and television shows. The infected in 28 Days Later are 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 Later not 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 in 28 Days Later. This was so effective that Jim waking up from a coma and discovering a whole new world was repeated in The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, 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 why The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ essentially copied 28 Days Later’s opening sequence.
In most modern zombie movies and TV shows, mᴀssive post-apocalyptic cities are featured, hordes of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 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 when 28 Days Later was released. This is why all of 28 Days Later’s horrifying 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
Since 28 Days Later was such an influential movie, it now feels overly familiar on a rewatch. This is a result of 28 Days Later being 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 that 28 Days Later is arguably slightly worse now than it was in 2002. After all, if it wasn’t such an effective and well-received movie, then films like 28 Weeks Later and the upcoming 28 Years Later wouldn’t have ever been made.
It has been teased that Cillian Murphy’s Jim, who first appeared in 28 Days Later, will return in the 28 Years Later trilogy.
This also applies to other zombie movies. 21st century zombie movies such as Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and World War Z possibly wouldn’t have been made if 28 Days Later didn’t prove that it was possible to tell a complex and horrifying story in the zombie genre. Therefore, it’s clear that 28 Days Later is a victim of its own success. However, it’s great that 28 Days Later laid the groundwork for what is now a major franchise that is about to receive several new movies in the form of the 28 Years Later trilogy.
