28 Days Later is generally considered a zombie movie, as it has many tropes found in the zombie apocalypse genre. Still, while many zombie movies have a large cast, one of the strengths of 28 Days Later is its minimal cast and character-driven plot. The story centers on Selena, Hannah, and Jim, who woke up from a coma to find the world destroyed.
28 Days Later's Ebola-inspired "rage virus" is the agent of the apocalypse. It is a lab-created illness that turns regular human beings into furious, animalistic creatures. That said, the movie's most disturbing moments come from the fact that the human survivors can often be more brutal than the infected people, known as "The Infected." Jim finds this out, to his horror, when he discovers that the movie's military antagonists have a dark secret. This results in him getting shot and leaves him fighting for his life. Major West's betrayal sets up three of 28 Days Later's four different endings.
28 Days Later Had Three Alternate Endings
The Theatrical Ending Mirrors 28 Days Later's First Scene
28 Days Later kept audiences guessing Jim's fate for some time. After he is shot, the screen fades, suggesting for a moment that the movie will end on a cliffhanger. Fortunately for audiences, this is not the case. The caption "28 Days Later" appears onscreen, and clips of the immediate aftermath of the shooting show Selena trying to resuscitate him. Jim then wakes up in bed before rushing out of the house to Selena and Hannah in trying to attract the attention of a ing aircraft. While this ending was well-received, Danny Boyle had considered three other endings.
It is a common saying that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. The theatrical ending scene begins with several flashes of Jim's life and an ominous upside-down shot of the word "HELL." Jim wakes up in bed with a jolt at the beginning of the movie, and the ending mirrors this in a different bed. This directive choice gave viewers another few moments of ambiguity before it became clear that Jim survived. 28 Days Later used clips from this scene in two of its other alternate endings, where Jim's fate isn't so optimistic.
Jim Didn't Survive 28 Days Later's Climax In Two Endings
28 Days Later's Freeze Frame Ending Was Not Danny Boyle's Choice
Danny Boyle filmed two of 28 Days Later's alternate endings and storyboarded a third. Two of the endings make it clear that Jim didn't survive. Boyle filmed his original harrowing ending in the hospital, where Selena and Hannah, still in the red dresses that the soldiers dressed them in, battle desperately to save Jim's life. Hannah calls out the medications to Selena, who was a chemist. Still, Jim dies on the operating table, and this ending is now known as the "...what if?" ending. Boyle also filmed a much more ambiguous version, which was not his original plan.
28 Days Later was filmed on a surprisingly low budget of just $8 million.
28 Days Later's "freeze-frame" alternate ending was not Danny Boyle's original choice. 28 Days Later was filmed on a surprisingly low budget of just $8 million, and just as he was trying to finish his movie, Boyle ran out of money. The ambiguous freeze-frame ending was his solution. The action stopped as Hannah crashed the taxi through the gates. Fortunately, when the producer and Boyle showed the freeze-frame ending to the studio, they were given more money so that 28 Days Later could have a proper ending.
The Dark Reason Audiences Didn't Like 28 Days Later's Original Ending
Frank's Infection Is One Of The Most Tragic Moments In 28 Days Later
28 Days Later is one of the bleakest and most tragic zombie apocalypse genre movies to have been made, and it gets progressively more disturbing. The audience is dealt several blows in quick succession, with Frank becoming infected just when salvation appears in sight, then Major West betraying Jim's group, and finally, Jim being shot. Test audiences saw the original ending as hopeless, with Selena and Hannah walking to their deaths. This was far darker than intended, and Danny Boyle made a controversial ending change, allowing Jim to survive. Similarly, the storyboarded ending saved the life of a different character.
Alex Garland was the writer for 28 Days Later, and the bleak original ending was his idea, rather than Boyle's.
28 Years Later may not be able to top 28 Days Later's most disturbing scene, in which Major West reveals that he sent a false message of salvation to lure in women. That said, 28 Days Later has another tragic moment that shocked its audience. Frank is infected when a drop of blood falls into his eye, and within a few seconds, he turns from a loving father to a clothes-ripping, snarling monster. This is one of the most tragic moments in the movie, and when 28 Days Later's storyboarded alternative ending veered away from the theatrical story.
28 Days Later Almost Had A Very Wild Third Act
Danny Boyle Scrapped The Radical Alternative Ending As It Did Not Work
Boyle had storyboarded a final act for 28 Days Later which was drastically different from the theatrical version. 28 Days Later's "Radical Alternative" ending replaced the disturbing military scenes with another horrifying moment. In the final alternative ending, Jim knocks out the infected Frank and takes him to a laboratory. Hiding here is a scientist, who reveals that a full blood transfusion will cure the rage virus. Jim sacrifices himself to give Hannah her father back, and after having his blood transferred to Frank, Jim is left to die in the laboratory.
28 Days Later's Alternative Endings |
|
|---|---|
Ending Name |
What Happens to Jim |
Theatrical |
Jim survives |
Freeze Frame |
Jim's fate is ambiguous |
...What if? |
Jim dies of his wounds in a hospital |
Radical Alternative |
Jim dies after sacrificing himself for Frank by giving him a total blood transfusion |
The radical alternative ending for 28 Days Later would have been tragic, despite allowing Frank to live, but Danny Boyle decided not to use it almost as soon as he had finished storyboarding it. The alternative endings were included as bonus material with the DVD, where Boyle explained why he changed it in a commentary feature. It was already established that the rage virus was so highly contagious that just one drop would infect you. This would make a blood transfusion too simple and unrealistic of an answer.
Which 28 Days Later Ending Is Canon For 28 Years Later?
It Is Possible That 28 Years Later Will Reveal What Happened To Selena And Hannah
The plot for 28 Years Later has been kept tightly under wraps, with the highly disturbing trailer suggesting several different fates for its characters. As Cillian Murphy will be reprising his role as Jim, it has even been suggested that Jim will be a cult leader in 28 Years Later. While it is possible that 28 Years Later could show Jim in flashbacks and retcon the original theatrical ending, the most likely option is that Jim has survived. If so, this means that 28 Days Later's theatrical ending will be the canon ending for 28 Years Later.
Why You Can't Watch 28 Days Later Anywhere
Despite its popularity as a standout horror movie from the 2000s, 28 Days Later is surprisingly difficult to find. Here's what that's the case.
So far, it does not appear that Naomie Harris and Megan Burns are reprising their roles as Selena and Hannah, which means that 28 Years Later has some major questions to answer. Selena was a love interest for Jim in 28 Days Later, so her role in his life may have affected the person he becomes in 28 Years Later. While it is possible that the two women have survived and are thriving in another location, the bleak nature of both 28 Days Later franchise movies suggests that this will not be the case.
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28 Days Later
8/10- Release Date
- June 27, 2003
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
- Director
- Danny Boyle
Cast
Megan Burns
WHERE TO WATCH
RENTBUY28 Days Later is a horror movie about the zombie apocalypse directed by Danny Boyle. After Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma in a deserted hospital in London, he discovers that the city is overrun by the undead, so he s forces with other survivors to try and make it out alive.
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28 Days Later
- Created by
- Alex Garland
- First Film
- 28 Days Later
- Latest Film
- 28 Weeks Later
- Films
- 28 Years Later
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell
- Movie(s)
- 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later
The 28 Days Later franchise is a British post-apocalyptic horror series that began with the 2002 film 28 Days Later, followed by the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later. It explores a world ravaged by the Rage Virus, focusing on survivors navigating an outbreak of violent, infected humans. The franchise is set to continue with a new trilogy, beginning with 28 Years Later in 2025.
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