28 Days Lateris one of the most influential zombie movies of all time. Its use of fast zombies completely revitalized the subgenre and isstill a prominent feature in horror movies today. The post-apocalyptic thriller saw the collaboration of directorDanny BoyleandAlex Garland, both still in the early stages of their career. The movie was followed by a sequel,28 Weeks Later, and it has been announced that a new trilogy is in the works, starting with therelease of28 Years Later in the summer of 2025.28 Days Lateris most notable for its unforgiving portrayal of the infected and lingering sparse shots of London. However, what it does best is its portrayal of found family, particularly masculinity and the role of a paternal figure.This is explored through the character of Frank (Brendan Gleeson), who has an immense impact on Jim’s (Cillian Murphy) character growth, and it is his death that tonally shifts the whole movie.
28 Days Later
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
The Opening of ‘28 Days Later’ Is a Representation of Isolation
The opening scene of28 Days Lateris one of the most visually striking moments in cinema.Jim wakes up from a coma and wanders the empty streets of London with no idea of the devastation that has occurred. The surroundings are barren, and the only sounds are Jim’s calls for help. Boyle utilizes wide shots to highlight how deserted London is, whichwas achieved through early morning shoots. This initial introduction to Jim shows his isolation from the audience and also his desire for support. His first instinct is to head to a church, and it is clear he is seeking some form of guidance. However, he encounters the infected for the first time and is saved by survivors Mark (Noah Huntley) and Selena (Naomie Harris). It is made immediately clear Jim would not survive on his own and this is where his desire for leadership comes from.
‘28 Days Later’ Had Several Darker Endings — And They Would’ve Killed This Main Character
For an already bleak movie, these alternate endings were kind of too much.
The initial tone of the movie is bleak.In his rediscovery of a new world, Jim’s first instinct is to find his parents, hoping they will give him a sense of security. However, he discovers that they committed suicide together to escape thezombie apocalypse. It is a brutal reminder of the reality of the movie. Mark is also aggressively killed by Selena after he is infected. Although they have each other, it is clear Selena and Jim are alone, they don’t feel connected, and Selena is not afraid to turn on Jim at any moment. The first moments of28 Days Laterepitomize the harshness of such a deadly apocalypse. It is scary in its sense of isolation and using Jim, a character who has missed all the leading events, makes the contrast between before and after the outbreak even more stark. Jim’s loss and disorientation are frightfully raw, and he represents a man stripped of everything he knew about the world.
Brendan Gleeson’s Death in ‘28 Days Later’ Changes the Movie
When Jim and Selena meet Hannah (Megan Burns) and Frank,the tone of the movie shifts.As they are a father and daughter, they act as a representation of having something to live for. Their lives have meaning because they have each other and as the four of them spend more time together, that attitude is present in Selena and Jim. They become a makeshift family who find comfort in the chaos. The movie transforms into an almost dreamlike state to represent this shift in tone, which is evident in the supermarket montage. Here the color palette changes; deep oranges are replaced with much brighter whites. This ethereal lighting is what makes these sequences feel so hazy and dreamlike.Boyle purposely shows you how idealized this lifestyle isand how these four people have found each other despite their dire situation. There are small reminders of reality, such as Jim having to kill an infected child in a roadside diner, but for the most part, this middle section of the movie is a stark contrast to the opening. It is filled with hope and almost childlike innocence.
Then this sense of happiness is abruptly ripped away. When the group reaches the location of potential survivors, they are met with nothing. This is where Frank finally breaks, and his optimism slips.Frank’s breakdown structurally represents the loss of hope.He was the lynchpin, and his role as a paternal figure kept the group going. Theslow shot of the infected blood falling in Frank’s eyeis the perfect example of how the movie uses its slow pacing for emotional impact. Frank’s fate is sealed, but you are left waiting for reality to catch up. The family the four of them have built is instantly destroyed. Hannah has lost her dad but Jim has also lost a symbolic father figure that he has been searching for since the beginning of the movie. Jim’s inability to kill Frank heightens this, it shows what he found in Frank andhow important he was to Jim’s growth. Frank’s death is unexpected and forces the movie to take a complete flip in its direction.
‘28 Days Later’ Uses Survivors to Explore Masculinity
With Frank gone, the role of authority is taken up by Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston); the man in charge of the military base the group has ended up at. When the true intentions of the men at the base are revealed — they want to use Selena and Hannah as sex slaves to repopulate the earth — there is a lingering question of whether they waited until Frank was out of the way before they rescued the group. What is clear is that Jim, Selena, and Hannah aren’t safe. Frank’s kindness and warmth are replaced by West’s harsh and cold persona. The set suddenly becomes very dark, which represents the lack of clarity for the protagonists; the freedom and strength they had as a four is gone. What unfolds in the final act isthe exploration that man is just as dangerous as the infected.
Frank’s pastoral role in the movie means he acts as a protectorfor Jim, Selena, and Hannah, his presence creating a feeling of safety. His death is not only shocking but also comes just before the biggest villain of the movie is introduced. Major West as a figurehead is more sinister because that feeling of comfort that Frank gave to both the characters and the audience is gone. Without him, their situation seems much more helpless. Up until his death, the themes of the movie surround the barren landscape of the apocalypse and the importance of found family. The final third of the movie follows a much more recognizable mantra of zombie movies: humans can be the bigger enemy, and this is represented by Frank’s absence being filled by the sinister motivations of Major West.
The threat presented by Major West and his hunger for control forces Jim to step up and take over that protector role. If Frank hadn’t been killed, it is possible Jim would’ve looked to him for guidance, but his death means that Jim has to become the man Frank taught him to be.By the movie’s end, Jim has fully developed, and it is Frank’s death that is the defining moment of this character arc, allowing him to grow from completely relying on others to survive to becoming a protector himself. He is only able to help Selena and Hannah survive and escape the army base because of the symbolic importance of Frank’s death to his character.
28 Days Lateris available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray.
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