Cinema Seminar:
28 Days Later

Taught by Paul McEwan, Ph.D.
Professor of Media & Communication and Film Studies, Muhlenberg College

Imagine waking up in the hospital and finding that nearly everyone in your society was gone, and those who were still around were unlikely to provide much comfort or company. Such is the dilemma of Jim (Cillian Murphy) in 28 Days Later (2002), who must figure out what has gone wrong, as well as what he can do to survive.

A post-apocalyptic horror movie with plenty of social resonance (especially in the post-Covid era), director Danny Boyle’s take on Alex Garland’s (Civil War) first screenplay launched a franchise that has since spawned three sequels and a number of spin-offs, which is not surprising, given the range of Boyle’s talents. He has had a remarkably diverse career, making films as disparate as Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and Steve Jobs.

He is a director who understands what a given genre needs, and 28 Days Later demonstrates this perfectly; it has a cast of (then) relative unknowns, moody shots of empty London streets, and enough infected souls to keep you looking over your shoulder. Nearly the whole film is shot on early-2000s digital video, which was an extremely bold choice by Boyle and award-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle—one that not only allowed the production to make the fullest use of their tiny shooting windows on those “empty” London streets, but also gives the movie the look of a period document.

Join us to learn more about a film that asks each of us—in between the action and the scares—to consider what we might be willing to do to save ourselves, to protect those around us, or to preserve what little may remain of our civilization as we once knew it.