Behind the Scenes of "28 Days Later" — How They Created the Ultimate Zombie Horror of the 21st Century

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How did they film the scene with deserted London? How was the film's concept born? What alternate endings were there besides the main one?

While everyone's talking about the new franchise installment (the third film in the series, "28 Years Later," hit theaters June 20, 2025), I want to go back to where it all began.

When Danny Boyle took on Alex Garland's script, he had no idea he'd create one of the most influential films of the 2000s. "28 Days Later" didn't just breathe new life into the zombie horror subgenre — it transformed it completely. And he did it with a minimal budget, digital cameras, and no crowds of extras.

How the idea was born

The concept came to Garland shortly after "The Beach." According to Wikipedia, he reread all the genre classics — from George Romero to Wyndham's novel "The Day of the Triffids."

Garland decided to ditch the tired "dead rising from graves" template and replaced it with a rage virus — an infection that reflected early 2000s fears: bioterrorism, HIV, Ebola. This realism amplified the horror, making the monsters frighteningly believable.

Three-act structure and the fears of the time

Boyle built the film on classic structure: act 1 — London, act 2 — the road, act 3 — military base. Each step of the protagonist's (Cillian Murphy) journey shows human evolution in catastrophe.
Actor Cillian Murphy raises his hands to his head and smiles against the backdrop of London's skyline in red tones
Part of the poster and frame from "28 Days Later"
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The opening scene on the empty Westminster Bridge became an icon of the new post-apocalypse. "28 Days Later" wasn't just horror — it was social metaphor, a film about a state that rapidly mutates when control disappears.

Three different endings

Originally, the director shot three different endings for the film, reports Screenrant. In the alternative versions, Jim dies.

But audiences preferred hope. Boyle listened, choosing the warm, almost optimistic resolution. Though personally, I still think the tragic ending would've been more honest.

How they filmed empty London

The film's greatest miracle — empty central London. For filming, they blocked streets at dawn, giving the crew 20-60 minutes per shot.

According to Ladbible, scenes were shot simultaneously on 8 Canon XL1 digital cameras. All for one shot: an empty city as a symbol of the familiar world's end.
Actor Cillian Murphy in blue clothing stands on an empty bridge with London's Big Ben clock tower visible nearby
Frame with empty London from "28 Days Later"
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Even that massive bus in the frame — just 20 minutes of work: they flipped it, shot the scene, and cleared it out.

MiniDV, Grain, and Unsettling Light

They shot almost everything on MiniDV cameras. This was rare for feature films. But director and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle turned the low quality into an advantage: the grainy footage amplified the sense of chaos and documentary realism.

Night scenes were filmed during the day and then deliberately "darkened" in post-production. Lighting was minimal, and the horizon was constantly tilted — all for that unsettling effect.

The film's starkly contrasted imagery perfectly matched its story about a "rage virus" that leads to civilization's collapse.
Claire Donner from CBR

The Sound of the End Times

Music is a character in its own right. Danny Boyle drew inspiration from Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but John Murphy composed most of the score.
Two men and a girl in dirty clothes standing next to a black car
Frame from the film "28 Days Later"
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His track "In the House — In a Heartbeat" became the film's musical calling card and is still used in movies and games whenever creators need to build that sense of impending catastrophe.

Legacy

"28 Days Later" made Cillian Murphy a star and established Garland and Boyle as the key visionaries of the 2000s. It reignited interest in zombies and proved that horror could be intelligent.

Two decades later, the film hasn't lost its relevance: it still scares, thrills, and reflects the fears of our time. The creation of new franchise installments only confirms this. Earlier, we at zoomboola.com reported that "28 Years Later" became the highest-grossing entry in the series.