OK, Jim, I've got some bad news

I normally don't like horror and zombie movies much, but I really liked 28 Days Later. The trick is that 28 Days Later isn't really a horror or zombie movie, it's a post apocalyptic movie. It isn't about the zombies as much as it's about what happens when society utterly collapses. The easy way to tell this distinction is that the characters aren't focused on the zombies, their focused on their future.

Notice all the shots showing the empty countryside, or the freeways with just one car. The initial shots of Jim wandering around an empty London are spectacular, but not nearly as meaningful or thought evoking as the shots later. I'm sure this was fully intentional. Those initial shots instill confusion and show the devastation caused by the virus. But the later shots show the remnants of a collapsed society. It made me think about what would happen if society completely collapsed, never mind surviving against a rampaging herd of zombies, could you even survive without the basics.

Really, what would happen is electricity, water and gas all got turned off and there was no expectation of them ever turning back on? I've spent some time out in the wilderness, but I always brought my own food with me. And now I like right in the middle of the city. There's no way to harvest food here in a renewable way (aka, the stocks in the stores will run out real quick without restocking.) The best bet would probably be to head to the country, then hope for some good fortune and quick learning.

I really liked this movie's take on a post-apocalyptic world. Typically these worlds are created through some kind of massive destructive event (lots of nuclear bombs are the standard) but having it happen through a rapidly spreading virus leaves the possibility that all the structural infrastructure of society is still around, just none of the people.

This movie makes me with they'd done a better job with The Postman. If you like these kinds of stories you should read the book by David Brin, it had real promise and the movie really made some fundamental plot and character errors in its adaptation.

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