Horror Movies in the MakingFun facts and insane true stories from behind the scenes of some of history's most beloved and infamous thrillers and chillers.
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Despite its own director, Danny Boyle, reportedly not considering it a zombie movie, 28 Days Later is not only often credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre, but it also holds a special place in many hearts as a modern horror classic. From the fast-moving monsters to the unique nature of the rage virus to its haunting cinematography, the way this movie was made is just as interesting as its plot.
Check out all the neat behind-the-scenes details below that were gathered from interviews, the DVD special features, and the film's commentary track, and don't forget to vote up your favorites.
Looking for even more 28 Days Later content? Be sure to also check out all the small details hidden in the film here.
Boyle and Garland were inspired by a number of real-world viruses when creating the fictional Rage virus - particularly Ebola. It's even explained in the comic 28 Days Later: The Aftermath that the scientists who created Rage were using genetically modified Ebola as a carrier for it in their experiments.
They also share some of the same late-stage symptoms, such as vomiting of coughing blood, hemorrhaging, and getting red eyes.
One girl from the film crew spent three months making every poster, letter, and paper pinned to this notice board (as noted by the writer and director in the DVD commentary).
Director Danny Boyle cast retired athletes as the infected due to how important their movements are to their horror. He wanted them to be fast and move in ways the average person didn't.
“I said to be really scary, they can’t just stumble around going ‘argh,’ ‘cause otherwise you’d just walk away from them,” Boyle explained in an interview. “We hired [athletes] to be the zombies, so when they ran at you, it was pretty scary.”
Selena’s backstory, as described by both her actress and the film's director, includes having had to kill her infected parents to protect her baby brother, only to realize her brother was already infected, as well. The later published comics also added that she had to eliminate her infected husband (above) early on in the outbreak. Basically, she’s been through the wringer.
In order to shoot the opening scenes of deserted London, the film crew worked together with police and traffic control to close of sections of the crowded streets for mere minutes at a time, typically around 4 am on Sundays in the Summer to cut down on as much of the heavy foot traffic as possible. They used small, easy-to-move cameras (although sacrificing picture quality in the process), and worked fast to get empty shots of normally bustling areas.
Even so, one cinematographer noted in an interview that there were always angry commuters being held back by police just out of frame, "screaming serious dissent that I won't quote!"
For the scene where Frank shows Jim how he gathers water, the prop team originally only placed about 100 buckets on the roof. Danny Boyle didn't think it looked like nearly enough, though, so he asked them to come up with 1,000 more buckets within the next few hours.
Impressively, they did, though this is also why less-useful rain gathering containers, such as laundry baskets, were included.
