STANDOUT CINEMATOGRAPHY
– Nicola Foley 28 YEARS LATER
28 years on from the events of the original film and the rage virus has destroyed the UK as we know it: a quarantined no-man’s land, left to rot. The infected have evolved since we last saw them, hunting in packs, establishing alphas and even giving birth to new (not) zombies. Pockets of humanity endure in this hellscape, including the film’s protagonists, who’ve barricaded themselves on Holy Island. And while the infected have evolved, humanity has regressed. On Holy Island, the community valorises men as soldiers in the great fight against the infected, confines women to strict traditional roles and clings to a rose- tinted vision of Britishness. You could draw a parallel to populist politics’ nostalgia for the ‘good old days’, and perhaps a sly nod to Brexit – Britain cut off, stubbornly apart – but we’re here to talk about the cinematography, so let’s do that! It may have cost $60 million, compared to the original’s modest £5 million budget, but this film has the heart of a low-budget indie. Much of it was shot on iPhones (albeit iPhones pimped out with high-end cine lenses and specialised rigs), proving once again that Danny Boyle is a director who thrives under constraints. The iPhone-
first approach gives continuity with the visual language of the first film – grainily captured on early 2000s digital cameras – but best of all, according to Boyle and DOP Anthony Dod Mantle, it made them quick on their feet, allowing them to roam about freely and giving the cinematography a heart-in-mouth immediacy as the infected close in. With a super wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio, there’s nowhere to hide as the action unfolds, and you find yourself at once immersed and scanning the periphery for the next horror. For certain sequences, as many as 20 iPhones were mounted to a board in a semicircle, forming an array that allowed them to capture key moments – like kill scenes – from multiple angles simultaneously. Inspired by The Matrix ’s ‘bullet time’ shots, where Neo dodges bullets in slomo, the effect gave the filmmakers a 360° view of the violence, meaning they could be totally dynamic in the edit, slicing around the subject at will. iPhones were also attached to the actors themselves, allowing the viewer into the POV of a rage-infected zombie as it chases down humans. Alongside all the carnage, there’s beauty in this film too. A starlit chase
scene down Holy Island’s dramatic causeway against a backdrop of roiling waves is visually gorgeous, while a child tenderly placing his mother’s skull on the ‘bone temple’ as he says goodbye for the final time might well move you to tears. As a die-hard fan of the original film, I was apprehensive about this sequel. Like many I’d been disappointed by 2007’s 28 Weeks Later – a polished, action-heavy film with major plot holes that lacked the realism and heart of its predecessor. But 28 Years Later , with its distinctly British flavour and idiosyncratic style, is the follow-up I’ve been waiting for.
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