How 28 Days Later CHANGED the Zombie Genre



Rberything changed when 28 Days Later hit the scene, and the zombie genre had been changed and revitalized ever since. Today we discuss why that happened and what key elements future zombie media took from this landmark title to make it a horror classic.

Music:
In The House In a Heartbeat | Dark Piano Version by Lucas King:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDMHiDbcd-A

28 Days Later Theme “In the House in a Heartbeat” – Cover by Djem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-oi2V7zRSY

Dawn Of The Dead “How will your God judge you” (Cover) by Adam Massacre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLuWK4iJ0w

Ghost Memories (Various tracks)::https://soundcloud.com/ghost_memories

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44 thoughts on “How 28 Days Later CHANGED the Zombie Genre”

  1. Calling an Infected (aka the not-Zombie "zombie") a Zombie is the same thing as calling a Komodo Dragon (aka the not-Dragon dragon) a Dragon because it's a lizard with similar characteristics just some "minor changes". You can't believe one (infected = Zombie) without believing the other (Komodo Dragon = Dragon) because they're the exact same concept and the same logic used in Infected/Zombie applies.

    At that point, I'm sure one knows how ridiculous they sound especially when the creator himself tells you what the heck their creation is đŸ€ŠđŸŸâ€â™‚ïž it's like telling Bill Gates he doesn't know what a Computer/PC is because Steve Jobs MACs exists and says they're the exact same thing.

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  2. I loved the wwz novel and I actually enjoyed the movie but considering the novel is a collection of stories it would have killed as a TV show. If they would've called it anything but world War z I think the reception would've been so much better

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  3. In The House In A Heartbeat is on my playlist and I listen to it on rainy days, while jogging, or any time I'm driving and there aren't too many other people out just to give myself that since of dread. Then that guitar kicks in and the mood changes so abruptly. Then the end where you only hear the last three keys played on the piano slowly die down and I just breathe heavily saying "ah shit, ah shit, ah shit."

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  4. I might be alone here and biased coz i love 28 days later. But this is your best vid you've ever made imo. I'd love to see these deep dives into specific movies and look forward to the future vid about this.

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  5. Is it ok if I leave a list of zombie movies here that haven't been covered yet? I just really like talking about all things zombie related and don't want you running out of content for why you wouldn't survive and other unexplained zombie stuff here.

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  6. 28 Days and 28 Weeks are both great movies, but the "running" concept ruins the idea of zombies for me.

    The inability for a zombie to actively process it's most base level mental and physical functions is one of the things that makes them so scary, their lack of intellect, their reduction to shambling, rotting, remnants of a long-forgotten humanity, their struggle to simply stand, but doing so simply to feed on the living, are all of the things that make them terrifying.

    When a zombie is given the ability to run, they lose that vulnerability, they are no longer shambling remnants of themselves, they are no longer silent ghosts in a rotting shell, they are apex predators. It's the equivalent of giving a ghost a machine gun, the ghost is no longer scary for its original purpose, it is no longer scary because of the supernatural drive, it has been given a weapon, and now the weapon is the fear. Running, for a zombie is a weapon.

    For me, personally, the fear in the zombie genre and the idea of zombies as a whole lies in the post-humanity, the fact that deep inside that hollow shell, some remnant of the person they once were may still exist, struggling under the weight of whatever turned them into what they have become. The idea of their shambling vessel of rot, fighting necrosis and necropathy, just to feed, despite the undead form not being built for it, the insatiable hunger driving shuffled grey feet through the empty halls left behind by an empire of rust, the longing and intense void of consciousness; these are the things that drive that fear.

    Ultimately, however, zombies are scary because they put a spotlight on what we could become, and what many of us already are, mindless, bumbling, shuffling, looking to others for satisfaction, and rotting away as we seek it. But in desparation, when all of your strength is gone, when you are dead, not dying, you aren't running, you are shambling or crawling for reprieve, and a running zombie, or "Infected" takes all that away.

    It turns the desparate dead into the apex predator, it turns a silent threat into a meatgrinder, it turns a snake, lying in wait, into a wolf. And it isn't that those things don't encite fear, but it is that we more often underestimate the snake than the wolf.

    And no one is ever more capable than the underestimated.

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  7. Regardless of the fact the infected in 28 days later are not considered zombies because zombies are reanimated corpses those "zombies" are infected people taken over by the virus they just don't have any control over their motor functions or thoughts

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  8. So I think you can classify as “zombie” as: a person who has gone feral through a type of pathogen (such as but not limited to a virus) or abnormal force. Usually resorting to violence to transmit the disease via bite, scratch, bodily fluids, or brain/body eating.

    Anyone feel free to leave an example that may contradict my definition so we can make it more accurate

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  9. I'd actually say the movie was detrimental due to how many running UNDEAD zombie series arose out of it. UNDEAD that can run is absolutely beyond stupid for numerous reasons. As much as I like 28 Days Later I have to roll my eyes and sarcastically thank it every time I see running Undead.

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  10. Hey mate, great video as usual! Is there anyway you'd consider reviewing a movie called 'The Rezort'? It's a British/Australian zombie film and I really love it, it hasn't got the biggest budget but it has a great concept, mixture of nods to older zombie media, visuals and tropes etc. I would love to see your take on it, Happy Holidays! 💖💕🎄

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  11. my 1st exposure to the zombie media wss the first Resident Evil liveaction, the scenes of The Hive's murder incident (especially that elevator scene) and the red queen's classic line "You're all going to die down here" are still fresh in my memory

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  12. 28 days later are zombies, most InFACTED movies are zombies. Theyre pretty much brain dead, they lost their self. That is a definition of zombie. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just factually wrong lol. A zombie has a lot of meanings to it. Its one word, but means a fair amount of different things.

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  13. Tbh, the running aggressive zombies imo should've always been startled by each other. Unless they aren't already fixated on a non infected.
    They should be seeing a human body and put into their fight or flight response and start chasing it.

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  14. 10:43 I'd say for realism, 28 days later did a better job. Resident Evil has zombies, sure, but it's not the same at all. 28DL is about survival, plain and simple. RE is about stopping the virus Umbrella made, there's no cure in 28DL nor special zombies/infected. Also zombies are way more scary when they literally sprint at you, unless you're in shape, you'd die. Makes it a 1000 times worse.

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  15. The 28 series is my favorite take on 'zombies'. Although these are more 'infected' than anything, it really revived the genre for me. By far the most terrifying for me. The relentless attacks they display strike fear into you from the very beginning. The heavy breathing and snarling as they speed toward you is just too much to fathom. Everything about these movies inspire dread and despair. So terrifyingly good.

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  16. I liked your video this channel, While there are a few major fact mistakes on some of the movies.
    Make no mistake,
    28 days indeed made zombies scary for the masses again. In big part that showed up in a lot zomble survival books/tips started including how easy becoming infected with viral zombies. People have to be constantly reminded to wash their hands as it is, all it takes is rubbing your eyes if some blood was on them.
    Also after years of watching I am offically subcribing!

    Facts a bit off:
    Zomies in night of the living dead were not viral.
    They were brought to live when a raidiation saturated space probe retuned from venus.
    That is why people who were died for any reason after and even those dead before that also rose again. Bites just sped it up.
    That is cool ti find out the director mentioned resident evil. The creator of RE used NOTLD as influance. Some scenes in the game mirror the movie. I believe Romero was supposed to direct RE movie but they went with action instead of horror and changed direcrion.
    Return of the living dead were runners depeneding on the condtion they were in upon death/resurection,they were also smarter not killed by a headshots or physical damage in general for the first 3 flims. Also buring the them as most movies tend to do made more of them. The chemicals that brough them goinging into the air comes back down as rain , the water starts the cycle again.

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