When director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) and screenwriter Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War) teamed up for the 2002 film 28 Days Later, little did we know what a cultural phenomenon this under-the-radar, “Zombie if they were infected with Rabies” story filmed on an $8 million budget would become. Nor did we know just how well Boyle and Garland would complement each other, as director and screenwriter, respectively. Having become a timeless film that ignited a quarter century of zombie fiction movies, television shows, books, and video games, 28 Days Later modernized this horror sub-genre with its “what if the infected zombies moved at warped speed rather than at a snail’s pace” question.
Category Archives: Post-Apocalyptic
28 Weeks Later (2007)
28 Weeks Later, the sequel to the box office success and critically acclaimed 28 Days Later (2002), directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intruders), seemed like it was destined for failure before it even began. With the relative newcomer replacing the seasoned Danny Boyle in the director’s chair and without the help of screenwriter Alex Garland, 28 Weeks Later could have easily been looked at as a cash grab, looking to earn a quick buck off of name association alone, while coming at the expense of a lesser story or one that was poorly executed. However, that was far from the case. While not as crisp or innovative as the original, 28 Weeks Later quickly established itself within the franchise, while also becoming a standalone film in its own right. Continue reading 28 Weeks Later (2007)
28 Days Later (2002)
The moviegoer is in for a treat each time when either Danny Boyle or Alex Garland is involved in a project. Whether it be Boyle with a timeless filmography of directing credits that include Sunshine, Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours, or Garland’s vision with outside-the-box, ahead-of-his-time instant classics, such as Annihilation, Ex Machina, or Civil War, you can be confident you will be thinking of the film long after its view. 28 Days Later was the first time the two teamed up (Boyle as director, Garland as screenwriter). They struck a perfect accord of a tense, suspenseful, and foreboding film, painting a grim picture of what humanity could look like under the direst of circumstances.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Of all of the movies that have been released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one that I Of all the films released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one I watched at home that I most wished I had seen in the theater. As I watch this movie a week ahead of A Quiet Place 2 (a movie that should truly signify a return to the movie theaters), I almost wish I hadn’t had the option to watch Zack Snyder’s (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 300) on Netflix. I intended to go to the theater this weekend to see this film, only to see it sitting there as an option to stream with my Netflix subscription. It was both a blessing and a curse. Free is excellent, as is the ability to play and pause a movie as you see fit. But it is hard to beat the in-theater experience of a film that is supposed to be watched on the big screen.
Children of Men (2007)
A decade before Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Roma) was winning Oscars for Best Director, he directed the critically acclaimed and now cult classic Children of Men, a post-apocalyptic thriller set in 2027 Britain. In this dystopian world, it has been 18 years since the most recent human has been born. Humans have become incapable of reproducing for reasons unknown, resulting in a global fear that the extinction of our species is imminent. England is now the one remaining civilized society on the entire planet, making it a place where everyone can immigrate. The borders are strong, but people still illegally enter. Those caught are promptly placed into refugee camps. While this scenario may seem completely foreign to many of us, it should be a fear in our minds that lawlessness is entirely possible, and situations like these are already happening (though not globally) in many of our smaller countries that cannot defend themselves.