28 Days Later

[Sleuth]

Is family really the main theme though?  I see it more as human nature VS "sub-human" nature

But wasn't the real problem the humans who were either too arrogant to cooperate with each other or wanted to rape each other? That was the really disturbing part of the movie for me... thinking about how humans would operate in permanent survival mode.

That's what I meant.  Human nature (as personified by the soldiers and maybe even Selena at the beginning) seems to get real fucked up in times of crisis like that.  Meanwhile you'll see horses and ever rats work together

[Jeremy Blackman]

I find it tough to blame the scientists . . . The activists simply released what the scientists' work had pre-emptively created, dooming Britain with one swift blow.

So you don't blame the activists either? Should it be blamed on the violence of society in general? Or human nature itself? I was thinking just between the scientists and the activists, but it's probably not that simple.

The real question: after the UK quarantine, is the human race still doomed to develop "RAGE" some time in the future?  Or have they learned from their mistakes?

Good point... and I'm happy that wasn't hammered down our throats. Mmmm, a subtle horror movie.

Hey, someone remind me what happens just before that fake-ending freeze-frame.....

(SPOILERS) They're trying to break through the gate, and smash the car...

[polkablues]

Spoiler
I nearly had a heart attack when I thought it was going to end w/ the freeze frame (though it probably would've made the movie that much more unsettling).  

POSSIBLE SPOILER (SORT OF)

My mom, when she saw the plane coming, thought it was going to drop a bomb on them.  I told her an ending that bleak would never have gotten a major theatrical release.  Would have been a shocking twist, though.

[Ghostboy]

The original ending was apparently pretty bleak, and I'm thinking maybe that's what happened. It's an extra on the UK DVD...I'm sure it'll be on the domestic release as well.

[Mesh]

I find it tough to blame the scientists . . . The activists simply released what the scientists' work had pre-emptively created, dooming Britain with one swift blow.

So you don't blame the activists either? Should it be blamed on the violence of society in general? Or human nature itself? I was thinking just between the scientists and the activists, but it's probably not that simple.

Well, the premise of the movie seems to rest on human violence as the cause of human violence; in this case, televised violence has manifested itself physically as a virus (the characters assume) in monkeys.  Compound that with the fact that scientific curiosity and human compassion for primates (insofar as the scientists' and activists' role in releasing that deadly, violent virus) caused the death of millions and the quarantine of (potentially) the entire UK, and you've got a movie with an immeasurably dark message:  in short, human violence, scientific inquiry, and human compassion collaborate to cause human misery.  Bleak.

Hey, someone remind me what happens just before that fake-ending freeze-frame.....

(SPOILERS) They're trying to break through the gate, and smash the car...

So we just assume that that last scene was the most dramatic way to say, in effect, that the three protagonists made it out of the military compound and found relative safety for 4 more weeks?  Seems incredibly unlikely, given their circumstances just a few hours prior to their escape.  Like someone mentioned before: perhaps the film should've ended with that freeze-frame....

[Mesh]

And, hey, I just want to throw this out there for you people to mull over....

Why, specifically, 28 days?  Deep down, does this film, like so many other horror films (Carrie, The Exorcist, Firestarter, to name but a few), maybe have something to say about the human female menstrual cycle?

"28" is a very specific number, is all I'm saying....

Notes to consider:

-the infected vomit rich, red blood.
-the epidemic is called Rage, something many women experience during key points in the cycle.
-the infected have glowing red eyes.
-the young female protagonist seems to be right at about "that age," doesn't she?  Maybe a bit older?
-the two females are dressed quite specifically in two deep red dresses, and in preparation for (and I know I sound quite callous here) performing their biological reproductive function...

Just some facts to consider, I guess....

[Jeremy Blackman]

the two females are dressed quite specifically in two deep red dresses, and in preparation for (and I know I sound quite callous here) performing their biological reproductive function...

It's okay, you can call it rape...

[Sleuth]

Yes, it made 9.7 million I believe, which is more than it cost to make.  They're going to give it a wider release soon

[Mesh]

the two females are dressed quite specifically in two deep red dresses, and in preparation for (and I know I sound quite callous here) performing their biological reproductive function...

It's okay, you can call it rape...

Yeah, but I wasn't really trying to make that point; I was going more for a "female reproductive function and cycle" point.

But, yeah, it would've been a rape, no question.

[Ravi]

Yes, it made 9.7 million I believe, which is more than it cost to make.  They're going to give it a wider release soon

It opened at 4, I think, which is pretty good considering how little advertising I've seen for it.

[markums2k]

I just saw it at the local artsy theater.  Great, great movie.  I had a wonderful time.  For all that's left unexplained, it's still a really smart movie.  The only time I thought any of the characters were being overly wreckless was the gas stop.  "Cheeseburgers..."  yeah, I was rolling my eyes.  "Don't go in there!"  They were just messing with us, eh?

If any of you have to drive a long way to see this in a theater, it's worth it.  You'll talk about it all the way home anyways...  

[Raikus]

I finally was able to see it Saturday. It's playing at the big theaters here, but it was 10:10 at night and I figured there'd be a small crowd with T3, CA2, and LB2 (read: I didn't expect area moviegoers to have good taste). The wife and I arrived 15 minutes early and had to sit in the second row... in a theater that holds 400. Great movie, from what I saw.

To touch on some of the things mentioned in this thread. I thought the movie made a point to show "Rage" was a natural thing, not just a virus. The virus only triggered the permanent emotion. *SPOILERS* Jim, after his near death at the hands of the army basically begins to act exactly like one of the infected but with intelligence. He hops about like one, smiles ruefully, and then proceeds to kill two soldiers in a gruesome and caulous way. Basically, people killing people is a natural thing. "Rage" only brought it to the first and foremost reaction.

[jokerspath]

I am going to see this again before it leaves the theatres...

Anyone think they're gonna put out a decent DVD of this?  I heard the UK version was loaded, and I was thinking of ordering that now that I'm rocking the all region player...

aw

[Mesh]

The only time I thought any of the characters were being overly wreckless was the gas stop.  "Cheeseburgers..."  yeah, I was rolling my eyes.  "Don't go in there!"  They were just messing with us, eh?

Actually, that's one of the scenes which I think illustrates how sophisticated and intelligent this particular "zombie flick" was.

***SPOILERS in the following paragraph***

I think Jim goes in there equipped with the knowledge that, in horror movies like the one he's found himself a part of, when a character walks into any dark, deserted space, he's bound to be attacked by baddies.  Jim has accepted his new, horrific world and needs to harden himself against it by making his first, brutal zombie killing.  It just so happens that he's attacked by a child-infected, so his is a double initiation: not only kill zombie, but kill cute little kid-zombie.  After that, he's prepared for anything.....which proves especially useful later on....

[markums2k]

The only time I thought any of the characters were being overly wreckless was the gas stop.  "Cheeseburgers..."  yeah, I was rolling my eyes.  "Don't go in there!"  They were just messing with us, eh?

Actually, that's one of the scenes which I think illustrates how sophisticated and intelligent this particular "zombie flick" was.

...

More spoilers.  Like an initiation type of thing.  He was obviously prepared, huh?  I love how he wipes off the bat.

I mean, I get it.  But he could have easily died.  I didn't have enough faith in the character to feel like he was making a good decision by going into the fridge alone like he did.  Great attack sequence though.  Love how the kid drops from the top.  Dead-on.