In 2003, a movie arrived that was nothing short of revolutionary for the horror world. With its powerful blend of social commentary and stark terror, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later turned the zombie subgenre on its head, captivating audiences and stoking controversy about the very definition of “zombie”. Its influence continues to spread, and its second sequel, 28 Years Later, is slated for 2025. So why is the groundbreaking original movie so impossible to find?
The answer is complicated. There is a reason why 28 Days Later is unavailable to stream, and a separate reason why Blu-rays of the beloved movie command a hefty price on eBay. With 28 Years Later on the horizon and the rights to the original film changing hands, fans have reason to hope that Danny Boyle’s masterpiece will soon return to circulation. In the meantime, the puzzle of its obscurity needs to be picked apart.
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Rights and Technology Issues Are Holding 28 Days Later Back
When a monster hit like 28 Days Later becomes inaccessible, there is often a licensing problem in play. Indeed, it was available to stream until Disney lost the rights to the movie’s producer, Andrew Macdonald, who sold them to Sony. Fortunately, Sony has extended a glimmer of hope on its website, where fans can sign up to be notified when the digital 28 Days Later becomes available for pre-order. However, there are no guarantees of a new Blu-ray, which is largely related to the way the movie was shot.
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A big part of 28 Days Later’s impact is due to its unique look. For some sequences, cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle used the Canon XL-1, a MiniDV camera that had the benefit of being small and maneuverable — desirable qualities for scenes in which busy London streets had to be emptied out and sealed off. Mantle told American Cinematographer how the iconic images of Jim (Cillian Murphy) wandering through the depopulated metropolis would have looked incredible on 35mm, but the setup would have been too time-consuming.
(W)e made an artistic decision and I stood by it. In those particular instances, of course, we would not have been allowed to shoot and take up so much space [in 35mm] for two weeks at such a delicate time before early-morning rush hour. Just out of frame, I heard people screaming serious dissent that I won’t quote!
MiniDV was the only way to accomplish these now-classic images, without which 28 Days Later would not be what it is. The jarringly intense look of the movie perfectly matched its plot, about a “rage virus” that causes the collapse of civilization. However, the medium presented an obstacle for future home video efforts. The Canon XL-1 has a standard definition resolution of 720×576, which makes converting the movie to 1080p a problem. Upscaling it for a 4K release may not be impossible, but it could distort the unique picture quality of 28 Days Later.
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28 Days Later May Never Make It to 4K — Which Could Be a Good Thing
The conventional wisdom is that more is always better. The home video market trends toward higher resolution, higher definition, longer cuts, and bigger screens. However, movies like 28 Days Later defy this logic by creating a superior aesthetic through the use of quick and dirty production methods. Anthony Dod Mantle may have lost the luxury of 35mm due to practical concerns, but he and director Danny Boyle were well pleased with the gritty, anarchic imagery created by the Canon XL-1 — and so were the fans.
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Brian Eno, whose song “An Ending (Ascent)” features prominently on the epic post-rock soundtrack for 28 Days Later, might be among the first to protest a cleaner, slicker restoration of the movie. In his published diary A Year with Swollen Appendices, the pioneering composer famously praised the virtues of “failure”: that is, when a medium is pushed to its limits and begins to break down.
Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit — all these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided.
The promise of digital pre-orders from Sony is reason to celebrate, and the return of 28 Days Later to streaming — hopefully in time for the release of 28 Years Later — is bound to create new generations of fans. However, the lucky owners of older DVDs and Blu-rays should hold tight to their physical media, just in case 28 Days Later returns to the screen in a form they no longer recognize.
28 Days Later
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
- Release Date
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November 1, 2002
- Studio
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Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Cast
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Cillian Murphy
, Naomie Harris
, Christopher Eccleston
, Megan Burns
, Brendan Gleeson - Runtime
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1 hour 53 minutes
