Monstrosity In 28 Days Later

For my first English essay, I was given the instructions to analyze a film, in which it goes deep into the world of monstrosity and the audience’s perception and understanding of monstrousness. I chose the film 28 Days Later, and I could have not picked a better film. 28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic film, which gives a refreshing take on the “zombie” horror genre. The reason 28 Days Later is one of the most critically acclaimed zombie horror movies, is the way it portrays zombies. In all the history of zombie horror movies, zombies were always depicted the same way, slow, dumb, inhuman, they were truly monsters. However, in 28 Days Later, the zombies had the characteristics of most humans. They possess human-like speed,

For example, in the beginning of the film, we see a group of animal activists try and break out caged chimps from a medical research lab. Now, while the chimps were infected with the rage virus, the activists had the good intentions to free these caged animals from their captor, other humans. We, as humans often show true monstrosity in the way we treat not only ourselves, but animals. We use animals for our personal gain, for food, clothing, entertainment, and research. We put these animals through unimaginable pain and torture, in efforts to please only ourselves. Humans will cry over a mistreated cat or dog, while we will have a dead cow or chicken on our plate, and not detect any hypocrisy in our own actions. That’s not the only mistreatment that the film depicts that humans do, we also mistreat each other. In the beginning, it also shows reports of riots, crime, murder, all carried out by humans, to other humans. This film poised the question of “Are we the real monsters”? Whether you think so or not, we as humans are one thing for sure, we are survivors, and maybe a bit

Instead of decaying skin, the only difference between the zombies and humans, is that the zombies have blood shot eyes, spewing out blood, and growling noises. It was like the rage virus was a metaphor for pure, unhinged anger. Now in the film the rage virus was a virus, that is something affecting the blood, that is turning them into zombies, but it also symbolizes our true feelings and how closely rage is invested in us. In the film, rage is portrayed as something that no one can escape from, we are not fast enough, nor strong enough to fight it off, like the zombies in the film. In 28 Days Later, the zombies seem almost impossible to fight against, or escape from, because the concept of rage on top of the human abilities, makes the zombie in a trance and the way to break that trance is the satisfaction of