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28 Days Later (2003)
61 Plays2 months ago
In preparation for 28 Years Later releasing next week, Ricky Townsend and Travis Talaric dive into the hit zombie (but are they really zombies?) film 28 Days Later.
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Transcript
Clarification of Philip Poe Brothers
00:00:15
Speaker
Second episode. Before we get into it, Rick, i have to get something off my chest. i as consistentent as i was As insistent as I was, it is the Philip Poe brothers, not the Philip Poe.
00:00:28
Speaker
So if they ever hear our episode on bringing her back, it is Poe, not Poe. And Travis, I do think the other thing you should get off your chest is what you cut out of that episode regarding that name. who Wasn't there somebody else on here that was just like insistent that it was spelled or or pronounced differently? Yeah.
00:00:48
Speaker
I feel like that might have been me who said like, no. Yes. And you you had it right. Okay. I see where you're coming from. Yes. You were 100% right. And I doubled down.
00:00:59
Speaker
And there's there's like another minute of me doubling down and then tripling down that we cut out of it. So apologies to the Philippos. Great movie. Bring her back. Glad we started with that. And now we know.
00:01:11
Speaker
Now we know. So I've been working on my pronunciations for ah these films. And... Well, I think we could probably jump into it unless you have another five minute story that we want to cut for time.
00:01:22
Speaker
He did cut out my story last time. For the sake of time, it gets late. It is late. It is late. i wanted to I actually had a question. ah yeah You said earlier, because I you know i got i got held up but late at work. I was working on a commercial that's taking forever.
00:01:39
Speaker
and And I said, hey man, we're to have to push the pod. And you're like, it's okay. Late is no issue for me. I want to, but you never gave it time. How late could have I gone? Because I had to watch a movie and a half.
00:01:50
Speaker
So it's, it's 1130 my time, 1230 yours, um, AM for you. And I, I confused the time zones where I thought I was agreeing to what would have been 1030 my time, which would have been acceptable, but we've already gone beyond it. So, uh, that's why we're jumping in. That's why we're jumping in.
Introduction to 'The Sunday Scaries' Podcast
00:02:07
Speaker
This is the Sunday scaries. I'm your host, Travis Telerik. I'm Ricky Townsend. Today we're talking about two films and we may have to cut this into two episodes for time, depending how long this discussion takes, but we're starting with 28 days later and then diving right into 28 weeks later. This of course is in anticipation for um the first film from this franchise 18 years. we are getting years later.
00:02:36
Speaker
in about 10 days from now. And so I know we'll both be seeing that and have a pretty fresh take right after that gets released. Are you seeing it Friday night, Rick?
Horror Film Tradition and Audience Experience
00:02:45
Speaker
Um, yes, I'm seeing if I love one of my favorite things to do see a horror movie on opening weekend on Friday or Saturday. Even if I have Thursday night tickets, I try to do Friday or Saturday because you get a wilder crowd who's just stoked and ready to be scared. Yeah, I got a buddy Max who's committed to going to see it with me. So we're going Friday night as well. Max, very, who's this Max? It's actually, it's our communal friend, Hunter Brown. It's a good friend of his who moved out to Denver. He introduced me to it. So he's a lot more fun than I am, suffice it to say.
00:03:19
Speaker
I know we're we're jumping into the movies, but i did i thought i wanted to have i wanted to kind of relitigate something very
Listener Feedback and Podcast Diversity Goals
00:03:27
Speaker
quickly. i mentioned i mentioned horror film awards randomly in the last pod. I was like, oh yeah, I'm sure Sally Hawkins will get...
00:03:38
Speaker
you know but i didn't name any anymore i was thinking of the saturn awards that that is that is a very important award show for horror films and i also did want to mention one piece of feedback i got from a friend who listened to the pod um she said oh great just what we need another paw with two straight white guys talking about movies and i thought Man, hey, even if that was a bit of a, you know, a backhanded, not even a compliment, just a comment, she at least listened to it.
00:04:08
Speaker
I think that counts for something. Any feedback is good feedback, right? And we'll, I think our intention is if we get more than, i think we're, you know, we're recording this right off the hills of just releasing our first episode 24 hours ago. So if we get more than 19 listeners, we'll start to bring on some guests to diversify a bit. We've chatted about these movies.
00:04:27
Speaker
I agree. And then one one last thing before we jump in, I think it's worth mentioning because I was thinking about just potting in general. And it's still a new, somewhat of a new medium to express ideas and listen to content, whatever.
Influences and Aims in Horror Film Discussion
00:04:40
Speaker
And like, I feel like radio is a lot more open about mentioning your thoughts your influences and like I don't think pods do that a lot. So I just want to give a shout out to who I think are are like, you know, our icons, if you will.
00:04:55
Speaker
um The rewatchables by the ring of the big picture and blank check like if you ever If you're listening to us and you listen to those guys, you're going to hear overlap. Let's just put get that out of the way. like we We religiously listen to those guys and I think have found our voice and our rhythm or our trying to find it through... through i just don't think there's a reason to hide that. i mean they're just yeah They're so good at what they do and I just wanted to mention that.
00:05:20
Speaker
I think we just saw that they you know they focus on... the the types of films they focus on, we felt the horror community was underserved. And it's same with award shows as well, where there is really a passionate following for horror films. So that's where we thought we could plug in. But I love the discourse on those shows. You know, they're not just the facts, but they're actually making it fun and enjoyable to listen to. So hopefully...
Synopsis and Impact of '28 Days Later'
00:05:43
Speaker
ah Not just the facts. It's hard to be enjoyable when you put that pressure on yourself. But um yeah, so let's let's jump right into, ah again, we are very both very excited for 28 years later.
00:05:55
Speaker
So we just rewatched, I did in the last few days, you both did today, but 28 days and then 28 weeks later. Right into it, literally right into it. let's Let's go to 28 Days Later first. This is a film, it came out in 2002. This is Danny Boyle, very famous for Trainspotting, was a film he's directed before then, as well as many others, like The Beach. And he's gone on to have a successful career after this as well.
00:06:21
Speaker
This is a different kind of film for him, dipping... dipping his toes into horror for the first time. And he had Alex Garland writing for him, who is waiting for a few Danny Boyle films, but has gone on to direct his own films. Most recently, Civil War, Warfare, um earlier than that, Annihilation, which is, I'm sure film we'll cover at one point if we keep doing this, that's also one of our favorite horror films.
00:06:43
Speaker
this was... um emerging the minds with two to great, great talents in Hollywood. um I was too young. I was 12 when this came out, so I didn't see this till few years afterwards. You were actually 13 in Britain it came out too. It was June 2003 in the US. was 13, but I don't think I saw it till a few years later.
00:07:01
Speaker
um to Again, just the facts, $8 million dollar budget, but it it grossed $85 million just about internationally for box office. It was a pretty big hit.
00:07:12
Speaker
um looks like it looks like it costs like uh it looks like it costs like 30 to make yeah we'll have to talk about the quality of the footage here at some point but before we do so this is boyle and garland they are again teaming up for 28 years later and it's important to mention we'll we'll get into it more when we cover 28 weeks but they did not do the direct sequel 28 weeks later which we could talk about a bit why um when we get to that film but they're again getting together for 28 years later outside it of 28 days later 28 years later they have two other films where Boyle directed and Garland wrote do do you happen to know what those are one of them we've watched The Beach and It's Sunshine yep exactly okay yeah
00:07:55
Speaker
you're on Well, Alex Garland probably my favorite working director
Alex Garland's Career and Involvement
00:08:01
Speaker
right now. And we should mention that like since this movie came out, he has since almost, I say unwillingly or begrudgingly because he's pretty open about how much he, or at least recently, how tough directing is for him. And he's like, i just fucking like writing, man. Like writing, producing. Yeah.
00:08:18
Speaker
But he's so good at all phases of filmmaking that I feel like he just keeps getting pulled back in. But I'm really excited to see him team up back with Boyle because it does feel like that's where he's most comfortable.
00:08:29
Speaker
It's like yeah an old collaborator, um an IP that I think, I mean, he he came up with this. He brought the script to Boyle and was like, let's do this. So I always see this as like an Alex Garland brainchild of that then Boyle comes in and shapes it visually in like such a unique way. but ah But yeah, the boys are back at it, man.
00:08:48
Speaker
Yeah. I love that. um I think what is also really important about this film is this kind of restarted the zombie craze of the two thousand So you have this film coming out again, released in the UK in 2002, the U in 2003, immediately afterwards, we get the remake of Dawn
Resurgence of Zombie Films and Fast Zombies
00:09:04
Speaker
of the dead.
00:09:04
Speaker
few years later, we get, I am legend, which is very similar to this kind of, uh, city urban devoid of life, but there's zombies or in that case, like maybe they're vampires. I, I guess we should articulate for this film 28 days later, technically they're not zombies, but i think we will refer to them as zombies. I think oil, oil made a point of the genre.
00:09:25
Speaker
It's yeah, it's a zombie film. There's zombies. He, he tries to say it's an infection, right? Okay. The people aren't dying and then reanimating, which technically I think is what is required for a zombie. But um this was the zombie Renaissance. There was a lot you know, the resident evil films came out shortly after this as well. And you start to get a lot of zombie films in the two thousands because of the success of this film.
00:09:47
Speaker
um What else on the crew? Oh, so John Murphy. Can I, can I mention something about that real fast? yeah um Just a bit of overlap. So ah if I, if I understand my facts correctly,
00:09:59
Speaker
George Romero was supposed to do resident evil. ah I did not know that. And, um, it ended up studio was a little scared of his, cause he's got a kind of a gorilla style way of filmmaking. I mean, uh,
00:10:14
Speaker
Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Martin, um the crazies. And I think they just, they were looking for something a bit safer. It went to Paul W.S. Anderson. um But that first that first Resident Evil, that was supposed to come out a lot earlier. And that that I think they were looking at that to be the the the the renaissance, if you will, um of of zombie movies.
00:10:39
Speaker
But a it turned out that, you know, I mean, I guess Resident Evil came out at the same time, but it wasn't, it didn't have the impact that this did. I mean, and let's just put it out there before people are like, just say the thing that it did. I mean, it's fast zombies.
00:10:51
Speaker
Fast zombies is the biggest thing that this brought to the genre. Which makes it a lot scarier, honestly. I mean, it's, the old Romero films were a bit campy in that you see these slow moving undead.
00:11:04
Speaker
It is scary, but there's only so many ways these slow moving ones. Let's not use George Romero's name too much here. I mean, usually the characters were putting themselves in bad situations to be killed by a slow zombie, where here you have the the zombies are such a unlike speed, right? Like they,
00:11:22
Speaker
And they are not just as fast as a regular human, but then above and beyond as if they just took a lot of adrenaline and are running after the humans here, which which is frightening. Because now all of a sudden you have something coming to kill you that you know you you have to actively think about how to to avoid. And even if you're smart, they can still catch you essentially, take you down. Yeah.
00:11:43
Speaker
I mean, but Romero, I contend though that Night of the Living Dead is, there's campy elements to it, but I'm excited to rewatch that because I know you and I talked about rewatching some zombie films ahead of our next pod.
00:11:56
Speaker
um I came away, i got the Night of the Living Dead on Criterion and like watched it for the first time, i don't know, like five years ago or so. And I do remember just being so desensitized with like fast, fast,
00:12:09
Speaker
blood bloody zombie movies, i I think I was left wanting a bit. But now that I have a better handle on the subgenre, I think I'm going to appreciate it more because that kind of started everything.
00:12:21
Speaker
I mean, that movie, there's a sense of dread and bleakness that I think that a lot of other movies in this genre take from. And so I'm excited to see it again. But I mean, yeah, I mean, this I think this this allows the genre to catch up to everybody's tastes in a way that like You know, you still are grappling with societal mores, which we'll talk about.
00:12:43
Speaker
And it's still a great lens into like, you know, anxieties that people have about the end of the world and what happens when people are desperate. Yeah, 100%.
00:12:54
Speaker
um Also, yeah i think we're good we have our homework cut out for us before 28 years later. Like you said, we're going to watch a handful of zombie films. So we can maybe in that episode after seeing 28 years later, we can say where that ranks and some of these others rank in our top zombie films. But I think it's safe to say with this one,
00:13:12
Speaker
This is both one of our favorite zombie films. I think it's mine. I think it's my favorite. Favorite horror films overall. And I think you see that on top of lot of people's lists. So I don't want to say it's a safe pick necessarily, but it is universally very well received, this movie.
00:13:28
Speaker
Which is still so funny. By both the box office as well as you know individual horror fans. It's just funny because like like you said, he's so he's like, this isn't a zombie movie. Yes, exactly. Sorry, buddy. Or having one of the most famous beloved zombie movies of all time. Should we do a quick synopsis for to
Plot Overview of '28 Days Later'
00:13:46
Speaker
remind people?
00:13:46
Speaker
Yeah, well, two other notes I wanted to cover real quick. um John Murphy composed the score for this one. And I think this is actually one of the most underrated scores of the last 25 years. i'll it is very iconic, very iconic.
00:14:02
Speaker
very much takes the feel of the movie and translates that into music. And so I love it. I think one of the criticisms of 28 weeks later, reusing the score is they, they almost use it too much um throughout the film, but I think it's because he did such a great job with it.
00:14:17
Speaker
And so love, love the music here. So we have to give a shout out though, to Godspeed you black emperor though, the post rock band that included that like iconic building,
00:14:29
Speaker
sense of dread that that that score. Play it real fast while I'm talking about it and you'll know what I'm talking It's called East Hastings. Okay. So they're a post-rock band, which is a funny way of just saying like instrumental alt-rock, if you will, but they're like known for being like super anti-capitalists like are anarchist not anarchist but like they don't participate in like the global economy as normal artists do so like they don't have partnerships with like large brands or anything and so when they signed up to do this movie with with Boyle they only found out later that Fox was like involved you know like a large a large company I think it was Fox yeah Fox Searchlight yes
00:15:09
Speaker
yep And so they hired lawyers to like put the stops to whatever they could to like mitigate the release. And so it's one of the reasons, A, that song doesn't is not featured on the soundtrack, ah like if you purchase the soundtrack separately, because they don't they don't want to participate. I didn't know any this.
00:15:26
Speaker
Yeah. And then secondly, it's... it's it's assumed one of the reasons so 28 Days Later is also known in like the physical media world for like being supremely hard to find like only recently has it fit figured out its streaming rights again because the stream rates are so complicated because they're all caught up in a lot of different rights issues including godspeed emperor's uh uh unwillingness to like you know play ball which i don't it's honestly i think i kind of respect it those guys are badass and like they stick to what they preach yeah but uh but yeah it's it's one of it's one of the pieces of music in the film that i think makes it what it is it is dread inducing it is like
00:16:07
Speaker
it's it's perpetual, it grows, it grows, it grows. And like it's repurposed all over social media and like other memes and stuff for like people having post-apocalyptic fears. So I just wanted to shout them out because like I think they play a huge part.
00:16:31
Speaker
I love that. the The band that did not want to sell out and now they can't help but be true one of the most successful beloved horror films here, the 2000s. Godspeed you! exclamation point Black Emperor, I should add.
00:16:45
Speaker
Okay. And one other production note before we get into... Well, actually, we can save casting. Give us a synopsis and now we'll get into casting. I want to talk about Killian Murphy for a bit, but yeah I'm getting too far out of myself. Rick, you want to give us a synopsis?
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's fairly basic. I mean, i I personally forgot how this movie started, which was like a group of animal rights activists break into a lab where like but ah chimpanzees are being tested on.
00:17:12
Speaker
They're watching like... bad news clippings of violence. That's the first shot are all these news clippings of violence. Yeah, which violence honestly, at first blush, it's kind of like, is this a heavy handed like, oh, violence can cause you to do, you know, watching violence, so much in the news makes you do bad things. But I think they get away from it pretty quickly to the point where it's like, okay, we just needed an inciting incident here.
00:17:35
Speaker
But yeah, the the lab is testing on this thing called rage virus and um the animal rights activists aren't trying to release the rage virus. They're just trying to release the monkeys, sorry, chimpanzees.
00:17:46
Speaker
And ah chimpanzee gets out. It, it, uh, attacks one of the animal rights of activists and the, and the scientist cut to, you know, and you can clearly see that you turn very quickly when this, is when these chimps bite you, uh, cut to 28 days later, dot, dot, dot, mind you.
00:18:05
Speaker
So they use it as like a little transition and as the title, thought that's pretty clever. Two, ah very important scene, Travis, another guy hanging dong. All right, we're two for two now for white dude in his, you know, 20s to 40s hanging dong in the beginning of a film.
00:18:24
Speaker
That's Killian Murphy. um And 28 days have passed since the virus has spread. We learn in a very cool way through nonverbal exposition, just observing him discovering what has happened, looking at like signs in the streets and i want to get it to you know the whole the whole so how they capture the streets is like iconic i think it's one of the lasting and enduring things about this movie but to wrap up the synopsis yeah he's he's clearly uh one of the few survivors in greater london um was in a hospital woke up in the hospital and starts trying to find other people that might have survived this thing run and finds a group uh three people specifically and uh we follow them as they go
00:19:08
Speaker
Seek shelter, seek this this radio broadcast that has been saying, hey, you want the cure the infection, come find us. And so we join them on this journey. yeah i i love the fish out of water this perspective because he is waking up from a coma so we aren't you know we don't have too much heavy-handed exposition it very much just fast forwards again 28 days later and it's him waking up and seeing everything for the first time so seeing which we'll get into and i'm sure our highlights and best scenes of the movie yeah
00:19:44
Speaker
London devoid of life, devoid of sound. And that's what makes the movie, I think, so captivating is we aren't exposed to like, here's day one and just the outbreak starting, but fast forwarded to it is already ravaged London.
00:20:00
Speaker
And now Killian Murphy is trying to pick up the pieces. So before we, I think that's going to take us into highlights in a minute, but before we do, let's talk about Killian Murphy. He had a few roles before this film, but really nothing notable. And it's funny to look back on now, you know, 23 years later, especially after the success of Oppenheimer. And he's, he's one of the biggest names that's in Hollywood right now, but this is really like his breakout role. I was looking his filmography before this.
00:20:27
Speaker
Actually, ironically, he was in a lesser known movie called Sweetie Barrett with Brendan Gleeson in 1998, which is funny. Dude, I love Gleeson. Can we just talk about... Gleeson's the best.
00:20:38
Speaker
Gleeson's the best. And this is one of my favorite roles. He's got such a good face, dude. yeah He's got a good great face and he scrunches it up and he's all curmudgeon-y, but he's really sweet in this movie. He is so likable. likable, which we'll have to talk about about that as well. know When Gleeson, the first movie I think of is Mission Impossible 2.
Brendan Gleeson's Performance
00:20:57
Speaker
you remember that? Really? He's like... in the back of the limo and he's, they like release the fake chimera virus. Like they gas him up and then he's in a hospital. Are you like ah a mission? Are you a mission two head? Because I am not. So, you know, mission two is kind of panned in this series and I have not gone back to see it since its release. So I, I do need to go back. want to see for life it's impossible too I 2. I just remember it was,
00:21:22
Speaker
Oh, geez. Dandy Newton, I think. It's one of only two Mission Impossible movies where it's confirmed that Ethan Hunt fucks. Okay. It was a John Woo film, which I know. Yeah, so obviously. You're a John Woo film. Kong, like hard-boiled.
00:21:36
Speaker
You don't even need a bedroom scene to depict somebody who fucks. I mean, slow motion, doves. Doves. Gun ballet. It's doves and slow motion, yep. Motorcycle jousting.
00:21:48
Speaker
So this was Cillian Murphy's breakout role. Brendan Gleeson's in it as one of the um leading stars as well. You get Naomi Harris, who I'm not sure what she's been up to for a while, but yet she's fantastic. She's great. She holds, she held my attention. Like she's so, ah don't know, militant's the right word, especially with these two movies, which are clearly like, don't to say anti-military, but they're anti- authoritarian they're they're anti-control but uh she's got such a the studiousness to her and she's so on and you just you know ah you know somebody who's going to be in the situation who's going to act like that who's just like not letting anything get by her she's seen some shit but then you find her soft side i really liked her i thought she was great in this
00:22:30
Speaker
Yes, I think she's fantastic. You get Megan Burns. She's playing the daughter, Hannah, to Brendan Gleeson's character, I believe Frank. but Those are the four main roles. former actor, Megan Burns, by the way.
00:22:42
Speaker
She passed away. No, she just was like, I'm not really good at this, so I'm not going to act anymore. oh interesting. I still thought she was pretty good in the film. She's not stealing the show by any means, but I thought she was a good role player. Again, coach coming off the page. I don't think she felt great about her performance there.
Favorite Scenes and Suspenseful Pacing
00:22:58
Speaker
um Okay, well, this film is, again, 23 years old, so hopefully we're not spoiling it for too many people, but I do want to switch to our categories, which were is where we start with our highlights of the film, the best scenes. So if you haven't seen it. Well, I got more. No, that's too quick. I got more things to say. I got more random thoughts about this movie. Okay, let's not get a category.
00:23:16
Speaker
Give me some your random thoughts. One of them is... Did you pick up on the like clear product placement of Pepsi? Yes. so Oh, my God. I'm glad you're bringing that up. Well, it's right.
00:23:29
Speaker
Killian Murphy out of a coma after, i mean, at least four weeks. I don't know how long he was in a coma before this started. believe it's 28. Well, he could have been in a coma prior to day one. I think the novelization... There's a graphic novel that unpacks Oh, okay. If I'm not mistaken, he gets into a bike wreck...
00:23:48
Speaker
like right as the outbreak's happening. Got it. So he's in a coma while the outbreak happens. Okay, well, there you go. But he is parched. He is in a hospital, again, devoid of people, devoid of the staff.
00:24:00
Speaker
Things are a mess. But the first thing he does when he gets out of his... um room in the hospital as he finds a vending machine and he chugs down a Pepsi with that label just front and center on the camera.
00:24:13
Speaker
ah And honestly, it looks great. Like it makes me thirsty. and I'm more, I'm assuming you're more of a Coke guy than a Pepsi. I feel like Pepsi is kind of the- Coke and Zero are my two. It's just, I don't know what's scarier, a world without like a a working economy or a world without Coke. Because this this world is Coke-less.
00:24:31
Speaker
There was not a Coke in sight, which was very scary to me. And then they even mention it. She's like, oh, what you want? Like, you want a this? You want a Pepsi? And he's like, do you have that? You have a Tango?
00:24:42
Speaker
Like, they weren't so dumb to like, yes, I'll have a Pepsi, Naomi Harris. He was like, no, i want this other thing. He wanted a Tang, right? He wanted a Tang or a Tango. I don't remember what he asked. I i just mainly remember the clear product placement of that first Pepsi. He he c chugs down right after he comes out of his coma.
00:25:00
Speaker
I'm going to guess that's the, when they were in the edit, they were probably, that's the part where ah Godspeed, you black emperor was like, all right, you got to get our song out of this. We can't piece the Pepsi now.
00:25:11
Speaker
If they only saw what Kylie Jenner was doing in Pepsi commercials. Both these films have a few clear product placements. Again, don't want to talk too about 28 weeks, but they walk past in 28 weeks, like a very clearly labeled McDonald's, like closeup shot. I didn't catch that.
00:25:26
Speaker
um You know, the London's in ruins other than this McDonald's. That's just, you know, it's like the flag was still there. ah Scott Fitzgerald. and No, that's great. who Francis Scott Key. Oh my goodness.
00:25:38
Speaker
i I'll leave that in. I won't edit it out. But the McDonald's is still standing. The McDonald's is still standing in 28 weeks later. um I got a few more things to say that aren't going to make it into our any of our categories. so yeah ah one One is that ah I definitely got COVID vibes, obviously. That's like the low-hanging fruit here. just and it maybe Maybe we can save the ah empty streets talk. for like thats That's probably one of the best scenes is when he sees yeah the empty streets.
00:26:08
Speaker
All right, we'll we'll we'll table that. um i i really liked... ah I really like how both of these movies, they they're so sensitive with exposition. And it's like purely, in most cases, like visual storytelling. Like whether it's just things they discover. We're we're not we're not learning about the minutia of the inner workings of the government.
00:26:32
Speaker
There's not all these characters we have to follow. Like it's so experiential, which I really like. um But the few dialogue that we do get, i think is very economic and very good. um Was it Mark?
00:26:44
Speaker
It was they either Mark, that guy who dies early on in the film, or Naomi Harris, I forget who says it, but they're like, you know, a lesser movie would just be like, hey, here's the rules. Like, don't go outside after dark and don't go anywhere alone. But they add this little ah um addendum, which is like, don't go out in the dark unless you got no choice.
00:27:02
Speaker
yeah Don't go anywhere anywhere alone unless you got no choice. And you what it does for me? It puts into my head Oh, there's there might be situations where you are desperate. And like it already gets me for trying to foreshadow like subconsciously what's going to happen here.
00:27:16
Speaker
And um related to that, I also really liked, especially, I mean, we're still talking about 28 Days Later here. ah There's a... Act two of this film is very interesting it's a long stretch where like we don't get any scares, no action.
00:27:30
Speaker
And it was super effective for me because I forgot what like a humanist angle this movie has, like the human drama and the connections are very palpable. ah That's probably a whole second thing we can talk about. But what I'm specifically mentioning is another like tactic they use to get your brain working in a certain way while you're watching this movie is like,
00:27:48
Speaker
There one point where they are stopping camping somewhere, and they they keep they keep cutting to certain like ah practical... You're getting the geography of the layout of the set and where everybody is. like You see the ah young girl behind the steering wheel, and you see Killian Murphy over here.
00:28:03
Speaker
And Boyle is doing something where he's like... he he's We've been trained for years and years of watching movies that like if you're starting to like get random shots of where everybody is, that something's going to happen, right? and Like a zombie's going to pop out, or like somebody's going to...
00:28:17
Speaker
slip their foot and like hit the gas pedal and kill somebody, but nothing happens. And this happens like two or three times. And I love that because it resets your expectations to where like, oh, Like, we don't know when this, when danger is going to pop up.
00:28:30
Speaker
We don't know when this thing's going to happen. And like, it really like recalibrated my movie brain, which sometimes just assumes everything's going be formulaic. And like, yeah, so this is a three act structure, but like I was on my, I was on the edge of my seat. I was like, I don't know when when shit's going to go down again. I haven't seen this movie in like 10 or 15 years.
00:28:47
Speaker
It was fucking great. Yeah, 100%. I think horror movies are often about pacing. You can't be ah all gas, no brakes with the scares. But likewise, you you do need to effectively deliver moments of dread and in these scary moments in this film. wasn't a cheap subversion, I guess. Yeah, and I think this film does it well and uniquely where there's there's some stuff kind of on the front end of the film and then like you said, a second act mainly devoid of that until getting right back into it for the conclusion, which is why I think too, like it it makes the ending of the movie so impactful. Like, I think they really nailed the ending for a film, which is hard.
00:29:23
Speaker
I think a lot of films are criticized where, oh especially horror films like this was scary, but the ending wasn't great. I mean, even looking at bring her back for such a great movie, that was, i think one of the criticisms is the ending just seems like it didn't quite stick. I'm not entirely sure how they could have done it better, but this is a film in 28 days later where I know, I know how you could have brought her back. That's how you could have done it. You should have brought her fucking back. Like you said, promises made, promises kept. But um okay.
00:29:49
Speaker
Can we go into highlights? Favorite scene? Yes. ah If you're already. I got five for you. I got one. I got one last thing and it's really quick. It's just, it's the opposite of the subverted expectation. That that is a promises made, promises kept of what you just said.
00:30:02
Speaker
ah She's like, let's go see your dead parents. You know, he's like, I want to see my parents. Okay, whatever. Let's go see your dead parents. Again, a lesser movie. because she said that you're thinking oh maybe they're not dead because it's so obvious he's like whatever let's and guess what it's exactly as naomi harris thought they are dead so that's that's the last part of that i wanted to say so we're trying to find ongoing we're trying to find ongoing maybe themes or what is the flavor for our podcast and thus far i have two it's um calling out men hanging dong and then it's promises made promises kept so we'll have to keep this trend going for our
00:30:37
Speaker
for remaining films. All right. Five scenes that I would put as my highlights. the You're going to have to leave this because I just finished these films. it I didn't, I wasn't able to compile, so I'm just going riff off of you.
00:30:48
Speaker
um First one's just really short, but love the immediate opening of the film with the animal activists breaking in and freeing the chimps. You have these close up shots. You get a lot of what's going to set the tone for the camera work. It's a metography throughout the film of quick, tight shots of the chimps from different angles, freaking out and in, in,
00:31:05
Speaker
going bananas until they attack. And I i love that scene. Probably not my favorite, but it has to be at least nominated. um Then you go into probably the most iconic scene from the movie, which is Cillian Murphy waking up in a London that has been destroyed and evacuated. And you have 10 minutes with very little sound.
00:31:28
Speaker
um No other actors. And it's just him wandering London. And now you went from those close-up shots of the chimps at the very beginning to these very wide-angle shots capturing all of the cityscape.
00:31:40
Speaker
um A lot of iconic landmarks around London as well with him walking around just trying to put together the pieces of what the hell has happened since... Since I went into my coma and I, um, so I mean, not spoil it too much, but I, that's definitely up there for, for favorite scene. Although I want your opinion, but let me, let me finish with these other three quickly.
00:32:02
Speaker
Um, I love our introduction to Brendan Gleeson. So later in the film, We have um Naomi Harris, who I believe her character's name is... um Naomi Harris' name is Selena.
00:32:16
Speaker
Selena. Thank you. We can leave it at it. Hey, reallyley i'm I'm embracing it. Selena. Selena and Killian Murphy's character, Jim, are climbing these apartment stairs because they see a light flashing.
00:32:29
Speaker
They pick up a zombie tail on the way up where they're trying to race up the apartment staircase before the zombies get there. When you get to the top of the staircase, you see a man blacked out in SWAT gear, fierce yelling at them.
00:32:44
Speaker
He has the full SWAT shield batting down these zombies. And as soon as he takes care of them and he lets them into his apartment, all of a sudden you see him take off the mask and it's a smiling Brendan Gleeson. who could not be more overjoyed to find other survivors. He's welcoming them. And in the background, you see Christmas lights twinkling, and it's actually playing Frosty the snowman as he introduces them to his daughter.
00:33:06
Speaker
um So I love the juxtaposition. I wrote down Gleason's smile as a note. I'm so glad you brought that up. So warm and welcoming. You want to have those moments in horror movies where you feel safe.
00:33:17
Speaker
And that was very safe feeling. Do you remember are these more moments? Cause I don't remember these. I remember it so bleak and horrifying, but I don't remember. There's like a lot of tender moments in this movie. oh yes i i did not remember that as much until the rewatch but i i think it's one of the movies again i love because you you have to have that momentary relief in horror films and and this one did it really well with that scene um okay so two more quickly um they leave brendan gleason's apartment in his tricked out cab and they get stuck in a tunnel
00:33:50
Speaker
And I love that scene of where they're trying to change a flat tire on the cab. And you are seeing not the zombies themselves running at them, but the shadows on the walls and the tunnel, all these zombies coming in.
00:34:02
Speaker
Well, you can feel, you know, the music's building, the suspense is building, and they are trying to get that new tire on the car so they can get out of there before the zombies catch them. And then I got just on that note. Yeah.
00:34:14
Speaker
Always a great trope in any horror film is when something out is already scary and weird is running away from the real threat. Like when the rats come, like all these fucking rats. And then she's like, they're running away from the infected. I love that. It's like, don't just love that.
00:34:32
Speaker
That little like, there's always a bigger fish, yeah i guess. Hey, ah big scenes for rats in horror movies. Obviously, Nosferatu came out last year, and that that has to take the cake. But this has to be up there in the Scary Rats scared guys Hall of Fame.
00:34:46
Speaker
Yeah, Willard approved for sure. At least for the number of rats they had. This was not like one or two rats. This was like at least 100 rats running across the screen. They weren't SAG-AFTRA rated rats. They had no speaking lines. This a cheap budget, so this was like volunteer work.
00:35:02
Speaker
Yeah, they they probably weren't able to go get a bunch of professionally trained rats. They were they were probably just picking rats off the streets of London, gathering them and like, all right, let these guys run. um ah Last scene for my nominees, um the very long set piece at the end. But when Jim returns to the mansion ah free Selena and Hannah um from start to finish, that is incredible. Again, talking about the ending of a movie.
00:35:26
Speaker
the they honestly could end it right after that scene. I know which we talked about ending the ending they did use after that and the alternate endings. Also some cool production info on the ending. Apparently they ran out of budget to shoot an ending. So this was shot after the fact because they had to get more funding in order just to put together a last scene after that.
00:35:46
Speaker
But not talking about truly the last scene of the film, but Jim storming the mansion and and in freeing them. I love as well. So Those are my five for favorite, favorite scenes and set pieces from the movie. Do you have any others to add that that really stood out that you love?
00:36:01
Speaker
i I really like ah their little Valium picnic. Yeah. Yeah. You know, just does that include killing Murphy's nightmare where he wakes up? Yeah, it does. Because to me, it gives us insight into what he's worried about. And that's like yeah being alone again.
00:36:20
Speaker
You know, I clocked it midway through that. That happens about ah exactly in the midpoint of the movie. And he echoes exactly what he the first words he says when he wakes up, which is hello. Hello. it's like, you have to start over again. He's alone.
00:36:34
Speaker
So it, you know, horror films are obviously, they're, they're great kinesthetic, you know, extravaganzas of cool sets and stuff. But like that inner psyche is huge. And like it it brought me back into that, like his psychology of like, man and he's feeling in the traditional ending for the film. Hello is also what they spell out to get the plane's attention at the very end of the film. So they start with that because they have at the midpoint and they end with that.
00:36:58
Speaker
And it isn't one of the alternate endings too. He's back in a hospital and he's like, they're not sure if he's alive or dead. I read that, but I don't know if they shut, they might've just storyboarded that. I haven't seen it.
00:37:09
Speaker
I haven't seen it. but Yes. I saw that. We'll talk, we'll we'll talk about alternate. We should, um one of the last things we should talk about is alternate endings. Cause that's yeah a big thing with this movie. um That's the only one i would, add But okay, and from that scene to that point where that is his greatest fear, I'm i'm going to jump ahead, but i have a few other best lines we can get to. But there's one from that scene in particular where the movie starts out where it's very focused on just surviving.
00:37:32
Speaker
And at that point where he's observing Frank's relationship with his daughter and he's growing closer to c Selena, he turns to Selena and Killian Murphy says, i was I was wrong when I said that staying alive is as good as it gets.
00:37:44
Speaker
I love that line because it shows that, you know, I think it's at the heart of the movie too. It's not just about a zombie survival film, but them trying to find life amidst this apocalyptic maybe give it though they just kind started
Production Challenges and Techniques
00:38:00
Speaker
maybe survived great couldn't be better they just of started like they surviv oh this is great life life couldn't be better Like, I don't know what the hierarchy of needs would suggest, like maybe to make sure you got your, you know, your food and shelter all sorted out first and then move on to fulfillment. But who am I to tell someone how to live their life?
00:38:21
Speaker
So out of those six with the scene you added, what would be your pick for best part of the movie here? It's what I would have said if you asked me before watching this again. it's what I'll say now. It's the empty scenes of London. Yeah, I'm the same.
00:38:36
Speaker
I just think like there's, that is just one of those lasting images that stays with you. and just a quick production note. So we haven't mentioned, I made a joke about in the beginning that it looks like this movie was, you know, $30 to make.
00:38:48
Speaker
costs thirty dollars to make shot on like a refrigerator or like a ah Nokia i noia flip phone. um But a you know how they, do you know how they shot this?
00:39:01
Speaker
You know how they were able to cobble together these scenes? So they would they would always shoot in the very, very early morning. And it took like, weeks of just getting minutes at a time because they didn't have the budget to shut down the whole city.
00:39:16
Speaker
So they would, they would literally pay police for like 10 minutes at a time. Like, Hey, can we just like get this street corner? Um, there would still be like drunkards coming home and like party goers who were like,
00:39:28
Speaker
you know, leaving the clubs like three or 4am. And they would like ask them just like, hey, can you guys just like hang tight over there? And so they would just capture little moments at break of dawn, and cobble that together to get the scenes that we get.
00:39:42
Speaker
So I think that plus the fact that going back to how, quote, shitty it looks, He shot on Canon, like I think it's called an XL1, I want to say, ah which is like a DV format.
00:39:56
Speaker
It's not as cumbersome as a 35 millimeter film camera, which was still, you know, digital filmmaking was starting to be a thing in the early 2000s. Yeah, but 35 millimeter was the standard. After traditional, yeah. And if anybody if you don't know, those things are huge to carry around. they're comfort You have to set it up. that You can't do this guerrilla-style filmmaking. and And it was super important to Boyle to have this like urgent, docu-style, almost a violent way of filming.
00:40:22
Speaker
Not only because it's the aesthetic he wanted, but like how they wanted to shoot this, like practically speaking. like Getting these shots, like setting it up to get a five-minute scene or like five minutes of footage.
00:40:34
Speaker
it would take an hour to get the 35 millimeter right, the lighting right. And so I just think it's like the synthesis of like Alex Garland's post-apocalyptic mind ah and then Boyle's aesthetic and like both of them together thinking of like creative ways to shoot this and the results are fucking great. So ah yeah, it's that scene for me. And then you have the soundtrack, which is like just this building dread.
00:40:56
Speaker
So yes that's why I like it. Perfect.
Military as Antagonists
00:40:59
Speaker
Let's go into best scare then. only have one, so I'll let you, if you have anything off the top of your list, feel free. One for me is, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Mailer.
00:41:10
Speaker
Mailer when he pops through the window. Oh, okay. Yeah. has big red eyes. that I did that on my list, but yes, that is great. Dude. i i I had on mine, um they go back to Jim's home again to find his dead parents and it's a moment of calm and he's looking through old family photos and just out of nowhere, you have zombies just come crashing through the window and that one's still, it's been so long since I watched it. I completely forgot about that. And that one did make me jump in fact.
00:41:35
Speaker
I didn't remember there being too many jump scares in this movie and that there really aren't. There's not. Jump and definitely freaked me out. um Speaking of that one where he goes home, I love a movie that is very realistic about a rotting corpse and how bad that smells.
00:41:51
Speaker
How many movies do you see? Like, I think seven does this well too. Where like you walk into a crime scene or where someone has been dead for a while. And like, if you're not putting your hand to your nose, I'm out on the movie. I'm like,
00:42:02
Speaker
I have to go to the lambs when Cleary Starling finds the first corpse that they're doing the autopsy on. it And it is just so disgusting. Like people are about to throw up. i I always need more of that in the horror movies, the realistic reaction to like, oh my God, I can't. I meant more vomit, which I'm like, hey, but if you like blood, you like vomit. 28 days later is a movie for you.
00:42:22
Speaker
um Awesome. What about, so we have this watching through the gaps in your fingers category. So this isn't necessarily jump scare, but this is cringy or dreadful to the point that you have to keep watching, but you also want to try and protect yourself.
00:42:37
Speaker
i I didn't really have anything off the top of the list for mine in this one. No, I mean, if you want to get more like just conceptually, um and and maybe this is a good segue to talk about this because I totally forgot it about it as such a powerful theme in the movie, but like when they get to the the barracks of these nine military men,
00:42:59
Speaker
It got me, dude. and where i'm getting Their plans for the women is what I'm talking about when it comes to like putting my... i didn't put my my but I put my proverbial hands above my eyes because I was like, oh shit. oh Is it right when Christopher Eccleston tells Jim in confidence, I i promised them woman and you're just like, oh my god.
00:43:18
Speaker
Because Eccleston, first of all, fucking great. Love him in The Leftovers, one but probably my favorite TV show of all time. um But like I totally bought, like oh, it's it's it's military members here to protect and serve.
00:43:33
Speaker
Yes, they are a little rowdy and boisterous, and they ah they're all dudes, and like they're running around with a car. And like looking back now, it's like they're sprinkling in all these little like yellow flags.
00:43:44
Speaker
And something I want to mention is like, I don't think it's ah I don't think it was an accident that a um right before we get the reveal that they're not like the best people. um They have bad eggs, right? Like, yeah, it's omelets.
00:43:59
Speaker
And so he's like, oh, the eggs are rotten. I thought the salt would cover it up. And I thought of like, two things like one there's always that argument of like oh just a a few rotten apples and in an authoritarian you know whether it's police force or like something where like there's the argument that some of them aren aren't too bad but like it depends on the power structure and in this case it's like all these guys have have spoiled if you will and the salt except for one i think yeah except the philosopher mcquarrie's character tries to stand by them but obviously he gets quickly turned on and executed
00:44:35
Speaker
And then um I don't think it's also a an accident that the one guy they chain up was a person of color. like i I'm just getting all these like colonizing, imperialistic... like they still had another They still had another black guy who was in on it with them, though, too.
00:44:53
Speaker
They did. I think what this, what this shows me what and knowing Alex Garland's work is like, um and I know we talked about, Trav, I said off mic that I want to talk about like some stuff that happened today in the, in the real world. I want to save that for 28 weeks later.
00:45:07
Speaker
think it's more pertinent, but yes, you know what mean? But for 28 days later,
00:45:13
Speaker
I think it's a great ah observation of like what can happen and a power vacuum and then authoritarian regimes, they can just crop up. In this case, it's Ecclestein's character and the other case is Idris Elba.
00:45:28
Speaker
But I think what we're seeing is like the military as a symbol of order turned predatory. Right. So ah we see as the movie goes on that like they're more dangerous than the infected.
00:45:39
Speaker
they're using their power to justify carnal desires that they have. um and like the, the place that they're staying, what I kept feeling like this was like a, a toxic fortress of patriarchy, right? Where it's like the old ideals, these old outdated ideals.
00:45:56
Speaker
And like, this is kind of what can happen when it's at least there's big critiques of militarism. um when like they are removed from accountability can just devolve into brutality. Like, you know, the, that same sense that authoritarianism can emerge in the power vacuum.
00:46:12
Speaker
um and like these little, when people get a sense, did you get this sense, Travis, were watching it? Like, i got anxiety, of course, from the zombies. But in movies, when there's utter chaos, I also get anxiety when like you start to see people look around and be like, okay, how how can I better the situation for me? How can I build a a new society or a new system? like Triangle of Sadness is a great example of this, I think, where like they're all stuck on an island. And so you start to see...
00:46:43
Speaker
inner workings of how people relate and like they go to their base space desires and whether those are good or bad it's lord of the flies it's the lord of the flies 100 and so just good subversions of like the savior trope where you think they're going to save you and they're the last bastion of hope when in reality they're just something else so um and i and i do think as bleak as the movie is and this will be my final bow on all this and I don't remember this because I remember it being bleaker than it was, but like, I still think that i Boyle is saying that like human connection, not domination by force is the key to survival.
00:47:19
Speaker
That yeah to be a so to be a civilization that works, it's got to be rebuilt on cooperation, dignity, not authoritarian control. And I think he shows that it's easy to slip into that, but that you can fight back. So that was... Yeah. i i never um Yeah.
00:47:35
Speaker
I think that's spot on. And we we see more of that in the next film, even though he didn't interact. It was EP. Yeah. i i I do want to talk about your point. I think it's a great one. And what really makes this film stand out from other zombie movies is again, going back to the picnic scene, we realize, hey, this isn't necessarily just a zombie movie.
Themes of Humanity and Survival
00:47:54
Speaker
This is people trying to contemplate are we just trying to survive or what is life going to be like after this? And you see, you know, the, the main quartets way to approach that, where they see Frank's relationship with his daughter, Hannah, and they say, it's, it's love. And it's still, you know, these relationships and that's what they're trying to fill this, this void with in this apocalypse.
00:48:15
Speaker
And then that's juxtaposed to when you get to the military group in the third act, they're They're filling it with power and control, and they think this is our chance to essentially take advantage of the situation. And so you see two different groups handling it very differently, which leads to, I think one of the best parts of the movie is truly at the end of the film,
00:48:34
Speaker
you realize the the real monsters were not the zombies, right? But they were the humans. Which a common trope. but yeah is a common trope. It's like, yeah oh, the humans the real But I think it's done, and maybe not even in a subtle way. It's pretty overt, but it's done really... It's effective without sounding preachy. It's just like you can totally see this happening.
00:48:56
Speaker
You know what i mean? Yeah. and like Exactly. the wrong people in the wrong time are there... like it It was done well. It was done very exceedingly well, which is why I think this film really stands out.
00:49:08
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. but Well, yeah, the only watch through your fingers scene I can think of for myself, now that contemplating a bit more, it's probably also our, we have a
Jim's Decision and Tension in the Film
00:49:17
Speaker
don't go in there award, poor decisions by the characters.
00:49:21
Speaker
And it probably has to be when Killian Murphy decides when they pull up at the gas station, he's just going to roll in there by himself. Like break in Mark's Cardinal rule, don't go into places by yourself unless you absolutely have to.
00:49:32
Speaker
um He did not absolutely have to. He just decided to go explore. um And of course, that's the scene where you know, okay, something bad's going to happen. And that's the only time was starting to cringe, starting to protect myself like, oh shit, what's coming down the pike?
00:49:46
Speaker
And he kills, which i I think only this time upon rewatch, I realized that boy, i do not think was infected yet. He was somewhat feral, but I think he was still alive because he actually speaks to Killian Murphy and he cries out right before Killian Murphy kills him.
00:50:01
Speaker
I wanted to ask you about that because that did stick out to me. And I i did read somewhere um that like... the rage virus, you are aware of what's going on inside your body and you're watching this play out like a film.
00:50:16
Speaker
And that's not explained and either movie that we just watched. So I am assuming that comes from the graphic novel that was released, which always gives more insight to these mechanics. And I'm wondering if the boy is a bit of that.
00:50:30
Speaker
he's He's slowly turning. Or maybe he's one of those weird cases that we see in 28 weeks later where he's like, he's kind of got a, yeah, he's like immune, but like quasi immune. Carrier. Yeah. yeah He's like still, you know, not not doing too hot.
00:50:44
Speaker
Well, they bring it back when Eccleston talks, con confronts Killian Murphy saying, you know, who have you killed? Like essentially like what have you had to do to survive? Clearly you can't still be living without killing someone.
00:50:56
Speaker
And, and obviously killing Murphy's killed some zombies. So that's what makes me think, oh, maybe this was a real human he killed, which again, just goes into, it was a watch through your finger scene that quickly turns into just poor, poor character judgment. He did not need to go into that gas station. um Okay. Let's go to best death.
00:51:15
Speaker
i I have two that I really liked. um It feels almost crass. to be doing like best death in a movie like this, because like, you know, my girlfriend was telling you she was mad at us because the way we talk about final destination ruined Ilse's idea of like, students she's like, no, that's horrible. These people are dying and it's ruining their lives. But like, no, it's, that's like a fun exercise and like playing with that. This is a lot different.
00:51:40
Speaker
I don't know if we've just become a better enjoyer of art or have just been desensitized from watching so many horror films, but I I now actively watch horror films. like, oh, man, that that one stands out. I'm going to remember that and not necessarily in a horrible way, but just like, oh, wow. But it is but almost feels like we are we are like crudely shoehorning this movie into doing this category because this this is not a fun movie but we rules are rules and we gotta pick the best death neither neither of these are fun deaths um but my first would be selena just absolutely butchering mark immediately after realizing he's infected she sees the bite and she just it's not even like a quick death she like hacks him to pieces
00:52:23
Speaker
So that's the first one. RIP Mark in a short run in this film. Not to get too dark, but like, you know, I i don't know about you, Travis, don we never talked about this specifically, but, uh, I don't do it as much, but I, I've seen my fair share of like, you know, terrorist torturing movie videos. When I was younger, I guess I was, you know, the internet's becoming a thing and i stumbled upon, but there was like some, I forget if it was like a cartel situation, but like where machetes were used.
00:52:51
Speaker
And I just remember seeing some videos where like, you just see how flimsy bone and flesh is to a slicing metal. Seeing his arm get hacked and reminded me of when I was in my like,
00:53:04
Speaker
you know early teens discovering the darker parts of the internet. It harkened me back to like some of those like i fucked up movies. It was also tough because...
00:53:15
Speaker
I thought initially she's hacking off his arm because that's where the bite is. So it's like, oh, let's try, you know, it's like a snake bite. Like, let's try to amputate and preserve. But that's just the first of many cuts. and Instead of going for the kill, she just cut that off and cuts the rest of them up. um And the next is, um you know, you've seen this a few times in movies now, but ah the last and probably one of the greatest evils in the mansion is this private Clifton, who is the one who is intent on taking selena for himself and when jim gets to him in the end he goes straight you know they grapple around and then he goes straight thumbs through the eyeballs which is i've seen it a few times and it it is one of those deaths that is always horrifying and gruesome no matter how many times you see it yes they do it again in 28 weeks later to go back to the well i do i know that is a when we'll get the dull knives but i have a dull knife i have a note about that okay
00:54:08
Speaker
um um ah But we're real quick, before we move away from the military scene again, ah another foreshadowing
Foreshadowing and Soldier Intentions
00:54:14
Speaker
moment. Remember when they catch them and they're like, it's one male and two females. I repeat, one male and two females. They say it on the radio.
00:54:22
Speaker
And remember thinking, like why does that matter? And then when you see what their use case is going to be for the females, that's why they like make it a big deal. ah Yeah, I did notice that bit more, you know the second time you watch it, you're obviously attuned to that.
00:54:33
Speaker
i The first time I watched this film, i I do remember being shocked, like you said, because I'm like, okay, they're with the military. I'm expecting the third act is going to be like zombies overtaking the fortress. yeah And so it is a good reveal that was lightly foreshadowed there.
00:54:47
Speaker
Okay, I got, we also have a cannon fodder award. a little different than best death. We're talking about minor characters. Wait, what are picking? What are we picking for the best death? Oh, ah yeah. Okay. Well, i I brought up the two categories. I'd love your take first on is it Selena butchering Mark? Is it Jim's thumb through the eyes? Is it something else that I i brought up?
00:55:07
Speaker
It's not thumb through the eyes because i have an issue with that. It is. It's the butchering Mark. That's the one butchering Mark. Yeah, i actually rewound it because I'm aim a sick fuck and be I was like, this is a pretty well executed. No pun intended death scene.
00:55:17
Speaker
And that's when you're still getting to know Selena's character too. So I think it is shocking because you don't know exactly how she'll handle it. And right away, she's just like, Nope. Um, you know she, she has a good, um, actual like character development throughout the movie where she is the more hardened person in the group from the get go. And then she is the person too, who realizes, Hey, there's, there's more than just survival at stake here. There's still humanity.
00:55:43
Speaker
Yep. um Okay, so cannon fodder, these are more minor characters, just a quick one-off death. to To me, it's pretty clear. It is that activist at the very beginning of the movie who is staring down the tunnel as that chimp runs at her.
00:55:56
Speaker
And she thinks, yeah, she thinks she is freeing the chimp and it just goes straight for the jugular and rips her throat it out. And she is... you know, dead and converted to infected within seconds. But I don't, were there any other like cannon fodder or maybe some of Mailer's kills of the troops at the end? but No, ah in a weird way, Mark kind of was cannon fodder for me because like,
00:56:18
Speaker
I don't remember his character at all. And I was like, oh, this guy's, his only purpose is to show that Selena is a killer and that nobody's safe. And so, yeah, that's fair. It's weird that oftentimes I don't think you'll find that the best death is also cannon fodder, but in this case it was for me.
00:56:34
Speaker
Awesome. Okay, best line. I think I've pretty much said all of mine already throughout the episode. The only one I have to add. Do them again. yeah Redo the sail the lines. So it's Jim telling Selena at the picnic, I was wrong when I said that staying alive is as good as it gets.
00:56:49
Speaker
And actually, that I think that's Selena telling Jim that. I think I was wrong, but it is them telling that to each other. It's ah Christopher ah Eccleston's character telling Cillian Murphy, Jim,
00:57:01
Speaker
Who have you killed? um And then lastly, it's a we we get to the point where Jim has just gouged out the eyes of Private Clifton.
00:57:13
Speaker
And he finds Selena and he starts to passionately, not just do they embrace, they start to kiss. But Hannah's in the room just coming down. you know She was on her Xanax or ah Valium, I think. And she's just coming down from that.
00:57:27
Speaker
And she sees them kissing and she takes the glass bottle and she smashes it over Jim's head. She smashes it over Jim's head. have Selena telling her, Hannah, it's okay. He's not infected. and she just goes, oh, but I thought he was biting you, which is probably the only time they go for a laugh in the film, which was, which was good.
00:57:48
Speaker
Yeah, probably not my favorite, but it did get did get a chuckle out of me. So Between those three. Okay. i can add i can add two. Yeah. Give me some. um One was that was longer than a heartbeat.
00:57:59
Speaker
Yes. Oh, man. I can't wait. missed that one. Okay. Perfect. I like that one. um And then the ah the other one is it's not all fucked.
00:58:10
Speaker
So when when that remind me it's ah it's it's it's killing Murphy. He's saying it's it's not all fucked. It's going to be OK because he's he's kind of just learning that they can like fight against this depravity um and they can fight against the antithesis of the human condition. ah Yeah, it was just like it's an unexpected turn for a bleak Boyle movie. Yeah, but I really liked it.
00:58:37
Speaker
And depending on which ending you watch it, it holds true. Yeah. Okay. Well, let's get to the dual knives here. And wait we got to, we got to pick it. What's the, wait, actually I have one. Sorry. I have one more.
00:58:49
Speaker
It's when they're in the grocery store and this is actually, I think another play at laughs, but i love it. That's a great scene. didn't even mention that. my highlight Yeah. And like, ah you you know, killing Murphy's clearly from like a working class family. Like doesn't, he's a, he's a newspaper courier, I think.
00:59:03
Speaker
And nothing against newspaper couriers. I'm just saying he's he's just, you know, he's not he doesn't come from a lot. He was the DoorDash grubhub delivery guy. i'm proud of And as somebody who has done DoorDash and been a DoorDash driver, I can speak on their behalf and say they're very hardworking and nice people.
00:59:19
Speaker
But he's about to pick some cheap whiskey. And Brendan Gleeson, who has, you know, maybe more used to the finer things in life. He's like, no, no, no, son. And he mentioned some, he's like, oh, single malt liquor or whatever. He says, but then but then I love it. I don't remember the technicalities of how he describes the whiskey, but I like his emotional description. He goes something like, this is the good one. And he goes, so takes out the fire, but leaves in the warmth.
00:59:42
Speaker
I'm just like, I don't think that relates to anything except like this old man knows his whiskey, you know? um So what's what's your favorite quote? I actually think you were right. um That was longer than a heartbeat, right? When Selena pauses and does not kill Jim when she sees him and she can't tell if he is infected or not. He's just been going ham on all these soldiers. And I ah do love that.
01:00:03
Speaker
That's your pick? Yeah, I think I'm going with that. I think i think that's think that's mine too. right I oddly enough have a lot of dull knives for a movie which
Film's Visual Quality and Aesthetic Choice
01:00:14
Speaker
but we life yeah I didn't really have any. I think this is my favorite zombie movie and it's maybe a top eight, top seven horror film. And so it just goes to show that you can love a movie but still have some dull knives. And, you know, so I have a few. So you can go first.
01:00:30
Speaker
Well, the only one I have, again, there's good reason for it, but it's some of the film quality is, again, I know there's intention. Are you talking about being shot on a Canon XL1 things? Yeah.
01:00:45
Speaker
other yeah things ah Yes, being shot in a can of where there's a few times where you forget that this is even a 2000s movie and you're like, what year was this filmed in?
01:00:55
Speaker
um but Which is minor. And again, there's intentionality to that. But other than that, this is a close to perfect film for me. So I'll let you air your grievances. All right. Well, my dull knives are less criticisms of the film and more so like, why would you do that? Or...
01:01:08
Speaker
yes it's it's like the cousin of don't go in their award where yeah maybe some of these might be considered for that award too but this is just like this doesn't make sense to me okay so the first is when when he first wakes up and I get it he's disoriented and stuff but like what was his plan with the bag and was he gonna recycle those cans like he's gonna go over like find a recycling thing like I don't understand it looks like he's picking up trash and can't find food in them like Bro, get your priorities straight. He's just coming out of a coma. He's probably like still... Well, then my next still knife for old Killian, I guess we can excuse him for being out in coma. But if I was him and I was like trying to figure out what the fuck is going on, I would looked at that newspaper a little longer.
01:01:51
Speaker
He was just like, what? Evacuation? And like it's not like there's a fade where he insinuates he looked at it longer. he like flips through it for two seconds and sets it down. I would be like combing through that shit be like, what happened?
01:02:04
Speaker
What did the Prime Minister say? like How long ago? is this a virus? is this like and and What happened? so what He had the tools right there. just like, out here. had cans just ahead of him, though, that he had to go pick up. Yeah. Or he has a newspaper career. He's like so over reading newspapers. He's like, oh, fuck this fake news. I want to go log on a Twitter or something.
01:02:24
Speaker
um All right. So that's two. um all right. i'm go um I said I mentioned the gouging. How can you die from getting your eyes gouged? How can you die? It's been used so many times in so many films, and not just these that I'm – There has to be some some truth to, I guess, like if the thumbs go back in there far enough, are they poking the brain? is that Is that what we're thinking?
01:02:48
Speaker
Clearly, neither of us have a medical background. Yeah, we need to get Vince Rossi on the pod one of these days. We should actually have guest and help explain all the medical. That'd be to have a doctor on for some really gruesome kills. Like, would this kill you?
01:03:02
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just like, I get... But I don't even think you're strong enough to go all the way to the brain. I'm just like... We have resilient bodies. I don't think we... Thumbs are... gonna I don't know. i got I'm holding up my thumb in front of me. I mean, I got...
01:03:15
Speaker
I got at least two inches if I'm going to that second knuckle. wow And even then they're getting in the palm in there. um two into that Two inch Travis. ah um yeah I have a protruding brow as well, which means my brain going to be a little further recessed back there where it'd be extra tough to gouge my eyes.
01:03:34
Speaker
But for the average male, I think you could get some thumbs pretty pretty deep back in there. Yeah, that's what she said. It's been done in so many films, right? i i just assume...
01:03:46
Speaker
I think there's just they're banking on us they're banking suspense suspension of disbelief. I just think they're banking on like... ah The way I justified it in this movie in my headcanon was that that guy was already on his way out.
01:03:58
Speaker
Like he had already done a number on him and this was just like the final fuck you. like Okay, okay. um All right, my last one. And this this is the one that kind of overlaps with don't go in there. So I should have ah should have spoke up earlier. But... um I found it very odd that like for Selena being so on top of shit, the fact that she made the choice to take Valium, like, or at least make sure that not everybody else did or like that only one person does. Cause I was like, man, three out of the four people are, are going to be like under the influence and your guards. And I was like that the Valium party, like maybe again, wait till you're in a fortified structure,
01:04:35
Speaker
to be yeah just sleeping out of the open you're talking about at the picnic and she was the only one like not guys i'm i'm just chilling i'm taking some pills but i mean she she's kind of a fiend for the volume she's like give her some and like she's like using it later like i don't know i i get it you need to get sleep it was just an odd choice and i was surprised that they and maybe kudos to boyle for not doing something obvious or garland who wrote the script like you would have thought that they would have used that moment, their guards down for a zombie attack, but they use it for a pretty effective dream scene for, um, Killian. But I just thought that, i don't know.
01:05:11
Speaker
That's, I was, i would questionable decisions. yeah I think these are all fair. These are all good. What are we going with? What do you, you pick this one? Uh, i I have to go with why Killian Murphy was carrying around those bags and collecting trash and recycling. like that is his His first instinct is to chug a Pepsi.
01:05:28
Speaker
His second instinct is seeing London just devoid of life and be like, yeah, i got I got to pick up some recycling here. was picking it upon himself to clean the city up. He read the newspaper. He's like, know what? Someone's got to clean up this town. yeah you know There's no such thing as a small step here. I'm i i going to get this thing going. and the pepsi thing i can understand i mean someone's got to fork up the eight million for this uh for this budget um okay last category scream king scream queen who was our mvp of the movie this is a tough one i'll let you go first because i gotta think about this oh man i i will say i never saw train spotting or any of boil this was my first introduction to boil um
01:06:12
Speaker
it I've seen other stuff from Garland I've actually maybe liked better. I mean, Annihilation's up there for me. So for me, this is peak Boyle and my first introduction to him. So I will give credit where credit is due, giving it to the director here.
01:06:29
Speaker
um Because I think when people reference him, I purely think about this film. This is what first comes to mind. And I think it's because he knocked this one out of the park. So you're going Boyle?
01:06:41
Speaker
I'm going Boyle. I think you're right. um As a Garland head, it's like I want to say Garland, but I do think that this movie is what it is more so because of the directing and the writing as much as I love Garland.
01:06:58
Speaker
And and Also, he you know i wanted to say this was also bounce back for him because he he does Trainspotting, which is like a cult hit, and and then The Beach does some good business.
01:07:12
Speaker
But it didn't get great reviews. It's one that's kind of been lost in time as well. has not aged nearly as well as this film. It's one of two Garland-written...
01:07:23
Speaker
well Garland wrote the garland wrote book, The Beach. He did not write the screenplay for The Beach. The screenplay is written by John Hodge. I did not know that. Okay. But 20 days later, he strips it all away.
01:07:36
Speaker
He goes back to basics, gets a little XL1. And yeah yeah, I think he wins. There's a long way of saying he wins. right. Boyle. I love it. I think that's the right call. All right. We are at an hour and 10 minutes. Maybe we cut this down a bit, but I'm going to make the executive decision that we are going to cut here and film may record of part two for 28 weeks later. so we don't end up with over a two hour pod and we'll, we haven't heard that from our audience yet. Exactly. But we'll, we'll put this as two separate installments. So for the two of us here at the Sunday Scaries, thanks for listening. And we will pick right up if you're listening, we'll 28 weeks later as our next step.