28 Days Later

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Fandom
Name: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later
Abbreviation(s): 28DL; 28WL
Creator: 28DL - Danny Boyle (director); Alex Garland (writer); Andrew MacDonald (producer)
28WL - Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (director); Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo (writers); Enrique López Lavigne, Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich (producers)
Date(s): 28DL - 2002; 28WL - 2007
Medium: live-action film, comics
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
External Links: 28DL Wikipedia; 28WL Wikipedia
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The 28 Days Later series is a post-apocalyptic zombie horror franchise based on the screenplay written by Alex Garland. It consists of two movies - 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later - a graphic novel - 28 Days Later: The Aftermath written by Steve Niles and art by Tim Bradstreet (cover), Dennis Calero (stories 1-4 and colours), Diego Olmos (story 2 pencils), Ken Branch (story 2 inks) and Nat Jones (story 3) [Fox Atomic Comics, (2007)] - and a comic book series - 28 Days Later by Michael Alan Nelson (writer) and Declan Shalvey and Alejandro Aragon (artists) [BOOM! Studios (2009-2011)]. Despite Boyle not considering it a zombie film, 28 Days Later is credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre of horror film and influencing a revival in the decade after its release, with its fast-running infected and character-driven drama, which also made it popular with fandom. It is a popular crossover option, often with characters from other fandoms finding themselves in the 28 Days setting.

Canon

The first movie is set in Britain, where Jim, a bicycle courier, wakes from a coma after an accident to discover London is essentially deserted as a result of the Rage Virus; while the infected are not zombies in the true sense (they don't eat people), they are highly aggressive and violent and the virus is highly contagious, spread by all bodily fluids. The story follows the usual zombie apocalypse pattern: Jim finds other survivors and a journey is made to a "safe zone", with members of the group being killed off and others being picked up along the way. However the "safe zone" is a fortified manor house where the commanding officer has plans to capture female survivors to use as sex slaves to repopulate the planet. The movie ends with three survivors escaping the manor and fleeing to the country, where they message a Finnish air force jet for help. In the meantime, the infected begin to die of starvation.

The second movie 28 Weeks Later initially follows the events of the initial outbreak in London, before moving to the story of NATO trying to repopulate Britain 28 weeks after the outbreak, the Infected having apparently all died off. There is another outbreak as the result of a non-symptomatic carrier being brought into the settlement and the story follows two survivors - children of the carrier, who are invaluable for researching a cure - trying to reach the safety of France.

28 Days Later: Aftermath bridges the gap between the two films and reveals the Rage Virus was developed in a lab by scientists trying to control aggressive impulses in humans. The virus was released when animal rights activists set the test subject chimpanzees free (as was seen in the opening scenes of the first movie). Departing from the usual formula, at the end of the story the inevitable band of survivors are all killed while trying to escape U.S. occupying forces. Likewise the comic series explores the time between the two movies, before expanding past 28 Weeks Later and revealing the spread of the Rage virus into Europe.

It has been reported that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are working on 28 Years Later, which will be the first of a potential trilogy.[1]

Characters

28 Days Later

  • Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier who was previously in a coma, who survives to the end.
  • Selena (Naomie Harris), a chemist and battle-hardened survivor who survives to the end.
  • Frank (Brendan Gleeson), a taxi driver.
  • Hannah (Megan Burns), Frank's young daughter, who survives to the end.
  • Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston), the leader of a group of renegade soldiers in Manchester.
  • Mark (Noah Huntley), a survivor and Selena's partner.
  • Sergeant Farrell (Stuart McQuarrie), the only one of the renegade soldiers to oppose West.

28 Weeks Later

  • Don (Robert Carlyle), Tammy and Andy's father and Alice's husband, who abandons them during the initial outbreak.
  • Scarlet (Rose Byrne), U.S medical officer who helps Tammy and Andy escape.
  • Doyle (Jeremy Renner), Delta Force sniper who helps Tammy and Andy escape.
  • Alice (Catherine McCormack), Don's wife and Tammy and Andy's mother, the asymptomatic carrier.
  • Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), Don and Alice's son and Tammy's brother, who becomes another asymptomatic carrier when he is bitten.
  • Tammy (Imogen Poots), Don and Alice's daughter and Andy's sister.
  • General Stone (Idris Elba), U.S. general overseeing the settlement.

28 Days Later: Aftermath

  • Warren - reckless scientist working on the virus during Part 1: Development.
  • Clive - cautious scientist working on the virus during Part 1: Development.
  • Roger and Barb, and children Sid, Sophie, and Liam - a family caught up in the outbreak. Only Sid and Sophie survive past Part 2: Outbreak.
  • Hugh - lone survivor living in London who hunts Infected during Part 3: Decimation.

(In Part 4: Quarantine, Clive, Sid, Sophie and Hugh meet each other in a refugee camp.)

28 Days Later (comic series)

  • Selena - One of the three survivors from the first film. Selena lives as a refugee in Norway.
  • Clint Harris - An American reporter who learns that a U.S.-led NATO force will soon enter London to start the restoration process. In an effort to get the "whole" story, Clint plans on sneaking past the quarantine into infected London with his team with Selena as his guide.
  • Derrick - An American cameraman reporter and Clint Harris' best friend.
  • Captain Stiles - The main antagonist and a good friend of the late Major Henry West, from the first film.

Fandom

The first movie prompted a "zombie revival", with various fanfics featuring OC survivors and their trials; in this the fandom is similar to World War Z and Night of the Living Dead. Also similar to other zombie movie fandoms is a prevalence of gen fiction, given the tendency of characters to be killed off, however there are a number of Reader Insert ship fics on AO3. Also popular are fics where Doyle (the character played by Jeremy Renner in 28 Weeks Later) actually survives and either goes on to escape with Tammy and Andy or has other adventures.

The most popular style of fic, however, are crossovers; with other zombie apocalypse fandoms, supernatural fandoms or other fandoms where the characters find themselves in the 28 Days-verse.

Shipping

While there are mostly gen fics and crossovers, there are some ships preferred. Specifically Jim/Selena from the first movie (which may or may not be canon), although the scenario at the mansion with Major West lends itself to darker stories featuring rape, sex slavery and dominance.

Notable Works

Fanfiction

Vids

Fanart

Archives/Communities/Zines

External Links

AO3 tag - 28 Days Later

Fanfiction.net - 28 Days Later

AO3 tag - 28 Weeks Later

Fanfiction.net tag - 28 Weeks Later

Deviantart tag - 28 Days Later

References

  1. ^ 28 Days Later - Sequels - Wikipedia
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