January 7, 2008
This is one of the scariest films I've ever seen, but I must qualify that by confessing that the last scary film I saw in the cinema was Aliens. I only went to this one because it had a 15 certificate and therefore (I thought) it wouldn't be too frightening. But it was - I found it unbearably tense and judging from the gasps and screams the rest of the audience did too. The only relief was that little was shown of the horrid zombies actually doing anything bad to Will or his lovely dog, but the threat was powerfully impressive despite their evident CGIness.
But the CGI effects and the actual confrontations with the monsters aren't the point. The point is the study of what happens to poor Will Smith after three years of total isolation in a New York eerily deserted during the day time and crawling with ravening freaks at night. There is a deeply touching moment when he begs one of his video-store mannequins to say hello to him, and later it's clear that his alone-ness has robbed him of the ability to relate to normal human beings. His stubborn determination to find a cure for the virus that has wiped out most of the human race is his motivation for staying in such a horrendously dangerous environment; with enormous will-power he has kept himself going by adhering strictly to routines and becoming very close to his dog - the rather long first part of the movie explores what happens as those routines are disrupted and his carefully ordered life begins to crumble into chaos.
I haven't seen 28 Days Later or the sequel, but I thought this was really good dramatically - the hero was admirable if not precisely likeable and you certainly felt the deepest sympathy for his predicament. I see that for people who do like scary movies this might be a bit disappointing - it's not a gore-fest - but for people who don't like scary movies, it has enough depth and intelligent writing to intrigue and entertain, and I would recomend it.
But the CGI effects and the actual confrontations with the monsters aren't the point. The point is the study of what happens to poor Will Smith after three years of total isolation in a New York eerily deserted during the day time and crawling with ravening freaks at night. There is a deeply touching moment when he begs one of his video-store mannequins to say hello to him, and later it's clear that his alone-ness has robbed him of the ability to relate to normal human beings. His stubborn determination to find a cure for the virus that has wiped out most of the human race is his motivation for staying in such a horrendously dangerous environment; with enormous will-power he has kept himself going by adhering strictly to routines and becoming very close to his dog - the rather long first part of the movie explores what happens as those routines are disrupted and his carefully ordered life begins to crumble into chaos.
I haven't seen 28 Days Later or the sequel, but I thought this was really good dramatically - the hero was admirable if not precisely likeable and you certainly felt the deepest sympathy for his predicament. I see that for people who do like scary movies this might be a bit disappointing - it's not a gore-fest - but for people who don't like scary movies, it has enough depth and intelligent writing to intrigue and entertain, and I would recomend it.