28 Days Later (2002)

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Noah Huntley, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston

More info: IMDb

Tagline: His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't.

Plot: A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realising that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? You bet your sweet rage-infected ass.

Here's one of the best zombie pictures to come out in the last 30 years. Danny Boyle has crafted a stylish and tense action thriller horror flick that knows when to scare and knows when to breathe. The scene where Jim escapes the military base and returns to rescue the girls is pretty damn intense. In the hands of a lesser director that scene (and the rest of the film for that matter) would be filled with shaking cameras, fast editing and loud music getting louder in all the wrong places. Boyle builds tension and suspense to set his audience on edge and doesn't employ cheap scares which is unusual for a horror film these days. John Murphy's underplayed score and the choice of songs add just as much to the picture as anything else. The end result is a finely-tuned, mature horror movie that pulls no punches and never holds your hand. You're on your own.