28 Days Later

From eerie vistas of deserted London to unnerving views of Manchester reduced to burning rubble, this Dogme-driven apocalyptic nightmare from director Danny Boyle is a tense, exciting and terrifying zombie horror. As a highly contagious virus spreads across the country, locking its victims into a permanent state of homicidal rampage, four individuals who have so far escaped infection have to fight off the deranged hordes. A powerfully iconoclastic Dawn-meets-Day of the Dead hybrid (written by Alex Garland, author of The Beach), this triumphantly executed piece of contemporary horror generates genuine shock value with its down-and-dirty violence and disturbing authenticity. Shot on digital video for a documentary feel that is tempered with occasional, unexpected flashes of surreal artfulness, Garland's compelling story grips on every level as Boyle's visual concept dovetails perfectly with the atmospheric narrative to produce an engrossing assault on the senses.

A zombie movie with a little twist Ð these ones are athletic Ð and a certain tension; nothing original otherwise, but very watchable.