The Automatik

Danny Boyle’s career seemed unstoppable until Ewan McGregor backed out of The Beach and Leo DiCaprio starred instead. Although ambitious, the film lacked the sincerity of Boyle’s previous work when it allowed DiCaprio’s movie star persona to overshadow everything else. But forget about that misstep: with 28 Days Later, Boyle has now achieved the same level of marvelous eclecticism as Peter Jackson by adding good old-fashioned horror to his already diverse oeuvre, all without sacrificing character or depth. Of course, there’s also an incredible soundtrack, a Boyle specialty, which enhances the mood rather than creates it.

A master of the postmodern, Boyle brilliantly mines the “zombie film” genre, but without being campy. (In fact, the word “zombie” is never used; “the infected” is the term of choice.) 28 Days Later borrows the brutal realism of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and the explicit gore of the Resident Evil videogame series.

There are also nods to 80s teen flick Night of the Comet (which is itself a cheeky homage to Night of the Living Dead), as well as Dawn of the Dead‘s goofy “Bub” character.Yet there’s a paucity of comic relief in this film. Boyle achieves a welcome contrast to the terror by creating deeply personal interactions in scenes of such lyrical beauty that I found myself moved to tears.

This film is not a star vehicle. There are no clich�d characterizations�just normal folks in an abnormal situation. But that is what makes them more than mere unwilling victims of those flesh-eating bastards. They’re going to survive because they’ve got something to them beyond mere skill with weapons and the ability to outrun their grotesque pursuers, and I don’t just mean the “the infected.”

Boyle’s familiar theme of man’s persistent need to be grossly inhuman is frighteningly apparent here and is actually the cause of the whole disaster. It’s also something that crops up in unexpected places, with truly harrowing and haunting results. This is not going to be the movie you think it is.

And it will scare the shit out of you for that very reason. It’s been over an hour and I cannot shake it off. I’ll be sleeping with the lights on for a long, long while. That is, if I can get to sleep.