SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: 28 DAYS LATER

"28 DAYS LATER"
(2003) (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Extreme	Extreme	*Extreme	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Mild	Moderate	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Mild	Moderate	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Horror: A handful of survivors of an infectious calamity try to avoid the rabid and infected zombies who are after them.

PLOT:

Twenty-eight days after a research chimp in a lab attacks several people, bicycle courier Jim (CILLIAN MURPHY) wakes up in a deserted hospital in a seemingly deserted London. Unaware of what's occurred, he wanders through the streets hoping to find food and an explanation for what has happened.

To his horror, he discovers a church full of zombie-like creatures, including a rabid priest who tries to attack him. Fleeing into the night, he's saved by Selena (NAOMIE HARRIS) and Mark (NOAH HUNTLEY), two non-infected survivors who tell him never to travel alone, especially at night when the monsters come out.

After discovering that his parents are dead, Jim joins the duo and they eventually run into fellow survivor Frank (BRENDAN GLEESON) and his daughter Hannah (MEGAN BURNS) who've barricaded themselves in their high-rise.

Upon hearing a random radio broadcast from Major Henry West (CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON) promising a sanctuary of sorts, the various survivors then set out across the countryside hoping to find it, all while having to contend with the rabid zombies and their post-apocalyptic world.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're into zombie or horror films, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong violence and gore, language and nudity.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: CILLIAN MURPHY plays a bicycle courier who wakes up in a hospital to discover that he's only one of a handful of survivors of an infection-based calamity. From that point on, he tries to survive along with the others and uses some profanity.
NAOMIE HARRIS plays a non-infected survivor who rescues him and must also battle the zombies. She uses strong profanity.
NOAH HUNTLEY plays her fellow survivor who helps rescue Jim.
BRENDAN GLEESON plays a father who's somehow managed to survive along with his daughter and then sets out with the others looking for sanctuary.
MEGAN BURNS plays his young daughter.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.; NAOMIE HARRIS plays a non-infected survivor who rescues him and must also battle the zombies. She uses strong profanity.
NOAH HUNTLEY plays her fellow survivor who helps rescue Jim.
BRENDAN GLEESON plays a father who's somehow managed to survive along with his daughter and then sets out with the others looking for sanctuary.
MEGAN BURNS plays his young daughter.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.; NOAH HUNTLEY plays her fellow survivor who helps rescue Jim.
BRENDAN GLEESON plays a father who's somehow managed to survive along with his daughter and then sets out with the others looking for sanctuary.
MEGAN BURNS plays his young daughter.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.; BRENDAN GLEESON plays a father who's somehow managed to survive along with his daughter and then sets out with the others looking for sanctuary.
MEGAN BURNS plays his young daughter.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.; MEGAN BURNS plays his young daughter.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.; CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON plays a military man who's promising sanctuary to anyone who can make it to his fortress where he intends on preserving the human race by whatever means necessary, including allowing his men to rape Selena and Hannah (which never occurs). He uses strong profanity.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 65 uses of the "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while a man is seen completely nude (front and back) in separate scenes.

Violence consists of many scenes of bloody zombies attempting to attack, infect and/or kill non-infected humans, as well as the latter's repeated uses of firepower to kill the former. A great deal of blood and gore (including the abundant vomiting of blood) results from that, while other lethal and non-lethal moments of violence are also present.

For those with low tolerance levels for such horror mayhem, those scenes (along with unexpected encounters, trips through dark places and some men preparing to rape some women, including a girl, which never actually occurs) may be unsettling, suspenseful or downright scary.

Various characters have bad attitudes, some drink, some smoke and several characters take Valium to allow themselves to sleep (or prepare for the above rape scenario that never occurs). Some tense family material (characters finding or seeing the deaths of family members) is also present.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, various scenes feature such moments (some of near strobe intensity).

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We see a bottle of wine and some pills beside an apparent double suicide.
Frank, Hanna, Jim and Selena have crème de menthe.
While in a fully stocked grocery store, Frank grabs many bottles of single malt scotch.
Selena states that she's taken Valium in order to sleep. Jim then takes some and Hannah has half a tablet.
We see some wine on a table.
West asks Jim if he wants a drink and then pours some.
To prepare Hannah for a possible rape, Selena gives her some Valium (and Hannah is later a bit loopy from taking it).

BLOOD/GORE: We see a dead chimp that's apparently undergone an autopsy of some sort (it's lying on a table with some open autopsy type views of it).
We see the vomiting of a great deal of blood during a chimp attack on a woman (and see blood on her and the floor).
Most all of the zombie-like people are bloody to varying extents and are seen throughout the film.
Jim has some blood on a bandage on his arm that also has some blood on it.
We see what look like many dead, bloody and/or decomposed bodies piled in a church (and hear the sound of many flies).
We see more dead people and Jim reacts to the apparent smell.
Some zombies are killed with bloody results.
A woman repeatedly strikes a man with her large knife/machete. We don't see the impact, but do see a great deal of blood splatter onto her and a nearby wall.
We see dead bodies inside a roadway tunnel.
We briefly see a crow feeding on a dead and bloody body. A drip of blood then falls and hits a character in the face.
A zombie graphically vomits a great deal of blood.
Some meaty pieces of zombies land near some army men (from some landmine explosions).
Jim has blood from his nose and down his face after being hit.
We see many more dead bodies.
A man's head is bloody after being hit.
A great deal of blood is vomited.
We see blood in a kitchen after another zombie attack.
There's more struggling, gunfire and we then see that a person has gouged out another person's eyes (we see his fingers down into the bloody eye sockets).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: The infected repeatedly try to attack and kill or infect humans (but this doesn't appear to be a conscious decision on their part).
For those who don't like animals being used in research/testing, an early scene shows a chimp with electrodes wired to his body, another that's dead and left exposed following an apparent autopsy, and others that are kept in small cages.
West and his men have earmarked Selena and Hannah as sexual partners and then turn mean and malicious toward them (West says he promised his men women, and the men prepare to rape the women, but that never happens). They also try to kill Jim.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some viewers (particularly those with low tolerance levels for such horror mayhem).
Some may be unnerved by the overall nature of the film (a man waking up to discover the city seemingly deserted, only to discover zombie like creatures that want to attack him and others).
We see what look like many dead, bloody and/or decomposed bodies piled in a church. Jim then says hello and some of them come to life. Jim then encounters an infected priest who looks rabid and comes at him.
Selena and Mark spot various zombies racing up a stairwell toward them and try to get to safety before the zombies reach them.
Frank and the others enter a roadway tunnel (which could be bad since it's dark inside, which is where the zombies operate). They then get a flat tire and while changing it, notice a tremendous amount of rats racing toward them. They then see hordes of zombies behind the rats and then race to change the tire as the zombies near them.
Jim makes his way through a darkened store and we then see a young zombie creep up behind him and then race toward him. Jim hits it and knocks it to the floor where he pins it there with his foot. We then hear the sound of him killing it with a bat.
Jim has a nightmare where he wakes up and his companions are gone.
We see that some army men have a bloody zombie chained out in a courtyard (it races toward Jim and West who remain just out of its reach).
For those sensitive to rape, it seems that some army men are going to rape Selena and/or Hannah (and even get rough with them), but this never happens.
Some men take Jim and another man out into the woods, presumably to kill them (we see more bodies there of people they apparently killed). One shoots and kills the other man, but Jim escapes.
Hannah hangs from and behind a full-length, free-standing mirror, hoping that the zombie in the room doesn't find her.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Machine guns/Knives & Bayonets/Molotov Cocktails: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill zombies and humans. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "F*cking hell," "Don't move a f*cking muscle," "What the f*ck is he talking about?" "The end is extremely f*cking nigh" (seen written), "Tell me what the f*ck is going on," "Open the f*cking door," "F*cker," "It's all f*cked," "F*ck you," "F*ck it," "We're f*cked," "Keep your sh*t together," "Didn't give a sh*t," "Really sh*t idea," "You stupid c*nt," "You sick bastard," "Pissed," "Shut up," "Bloody" (adjective) and "Cheeky monkey."

JUMP SCENES: A car alarm suddenly goes off in a quiet scene.
Some zombies suddenly crash through a window.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A moderate amount of suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 65 "f" words (1 used sexually, with another seen written), 8 "s" words, what sounded like 2 slang terms using female genitals ("c*nt"), 5 hells, 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 damn, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Jesus Christ," "My God" and "Oh God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: We see Jim lying completely nude in the hospital (thus full frontal nudity). He then gets up and we see his bare butt as well.
We see a dead woman in her panties (and a top).
Selena sarcastically asks Jim if he wants to solve the problem, save the world and "fall in love and f*ck."
We see Jim's bare butt as he showers.
Jim and Selena do some brief, passionate kissing, but she then races out of the room.
After we learn that some army men prepare to have sex (rape) Hannah and Selena, one of those men holds a machete at his crotch like an erect penis. Later, one of the men tells others that he's going to make Selena squirm.
We see Selena in her bra after a man struggles with her (preparing to rape her, but that doesn't happen).

SMOKING: Several miscellaneous soldiers smoke in several scenes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Most of the characters have experienced recent deaths in their families, including Jim and Hannah (who find dead ones or see them killed).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Infectious diseases and the spread of them.
How you'd react to waking up to such a scenario.
Rape (it appears this will occur, but it doesn't).
Animal research.
We see a bottle of wine and some pills beside an apparent double suicide.

VIOLENCE: We see various instances of violence on TV stemming from riots. In it, people hit others (including some who strike a previously hanged man who now appears to be dead), others are kicked and cars are overturned. We later see more of this.
A phone is ripped from a wall.
An infected chimpanzee attacks a woman, knocking her to the floor and apparently biting her. A man tries to hit the chimp, but the camera work is so shaky and the editing so fast that it's hard to tell exactly what's occurring.
Jim knocks a rapid priest to the floor when the priest comes at him.
Some zombies chase after Jim, with others throwing Molotov cocktails onto some of the zombies, catching them on fire. A large explosion at a gas station then follows.
Some zombies suddenly attack Jim and there's struggling. Mark and Selena then sweep in and attack the zombies, stabbing/slicing and killing them with bloody results (again, the camera work is so shaky and editing so fast that it's hard to see what's happening).
A woman repeatedly strikes a man with her large knife/machete. We don't see the impact, but do see a great deal of blood splatter onto her and a nearby wall.
Selena and Mark spot various zombies racing up a stairwell toward them and try to get to safety before the zombies reach them. Frank then stands at the top of a stairwell with what looks like a police riot shield and pushes back the attackers (with one then falling down the open stairwell).
Frank drives a taxi through and over a bunch of deserted and wrecked cars.
Jim makes his way through a darkened store and we then see a young zombie creep up behind him and then race toward him. Jim hits it and knocks it to the floor where he pins it there with his foot. We then hear the sound of him killing it with a bat.
Jim prepares to hit a newly turned zombie with a bat, but bullets then riddle the zombie, killing him.
We hear landmines exploding (meaning zombies are stepping on them and are killed) and army men then open fire at zombies at night with gunfire, killing many of them. Some meaty pieces of zombies then land near some army men (from the landmine explosions).
A man grabs one man and controls him, with another man then hitting that first man.
A man hits Jim in the face as he runs by, knocking him to the floor and bloodying his nose.
Some men take Jim and another man out into the woods, presumably to kill them (we see more bodies there of people they apparently killed). One shoots and kills the other man, but Jim escapes and the men shoot the dead bodies, thinking he might be among them.
A man grabs, struggles with and manhandles Selena.
Men hunt for another man and occasionally fire machine guns where they think he might be.
Jim hits a man in the head with a iron rod of some sort (we don't know the results).
West shoots three zombies dead.
Zombies attack a man (again, the editing is such that you can't really see what happens).
More zombies attack more people, presumably killing them (with bloody results).
Jim stabs a man in the gut with a bayonet (we don't see the impact, but later see the rifle sticking out of the man's gut - no blood).
Zombies attack another person.
A man has Selena around the neck while dragging her around the compound.
There's more struggling, gunfire and we then see that a person has gouged out another person's eyes (we see his fingers down into the bloody eye sockets).
Thinking he's infected and attacking Selena, Hannah hits Jim with a bottle or something else that breaks (he isn't hurt).
Jim appears to be shot in the stomach.
A zombie grabs a man through a window (apparently killing him).
Hannah rams a gate with the taxi she's driving, sending Jim and Selena flying forward from the back seat, but the image freezes and we don't know what happens to them.

Reviewed June 13, 2003 / Posted June 27, 2003

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