To revive a dying genre, sometimes it’s best to go back to the roots which, in most cases in art, means using the genre in question to explore something about humanity. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the first true zombie movie, explores how the oppressing class views civil rights movements, ending on a powerful note. As zombie films went on, one could say they lost the thread as the genre steers into bloody, b-movie shock value, and though there’s a place for that in entertainment, the effect becomes similar to how the coined “superhero fatigue” operates: Though the general public can’t verbalize it, they aren’t finding the films emotionally compelling due to how disinterested the films are in being emotionally compelling. Until 2002, when 28 Days Later entered the scene and performed cinematic CPR on zombie films.

 

Here, zombies are portrayed as being infected by a virus like super rabies, making the infected mindless, full of rage, and contagious through the transfer of fluids, mainly bites and blood. Here, the film explores the isolation of surviving in a world that tore itself apart, banding together with likeminded people and discovering that the biggest threat to humanity is, was, and always will be humanity itself. Even in the face of how fragile the human body and mind is, the toxicity of masculinity still makes some people think they can overcome anything and, in turn, feel they should be entitled to rewards for their survival skills.

 

It’s tough to watch 28 Days Later now, and I’m not just speaking about how difficult it is to find an out-of-print DVD and the lack of legal digital accessibility. I’m also not talking about how the film is only available in 480p, mostly shot on a consumer-grade DV camera that effectively makes its daytime landscapes feel abandoned, unkempt, and shallow. Instead, I’m talking about watching this for the first time after living through another zombie genre resurgence through The Walking Dead and The Last of Us, both of which take clear inspirations from 28 Days Later to the point that going back to the latter feels underwhelming.

Cinephiles know this feeling. It’s the same as watching a modernist film after growing up with their postmodern counterparts. Thankfully, the execution and soul of 28 Days Later withstands the test of time and “knock-offs”, still operating as an engaging experience due to its pacing and performances. Because it’s about humanity, and humanity, seemingly much like the zombie genre, will always endure as long as art about it is to be made.