Days mixes style, traditional zombie motifs
By Ryan Nyburg
Freelance Reporter
As painful as it is for me to say it, 1
think the heyday of zombie films is
over. The latest film from "Trainspot
ting" director Danny Boyle, "28 Days
Later," is a last gasp of life for the par
ticular subgenre of horror cinema, but
a worthy _
MOVIE
REVIEW
one at that.
It takes the
format of
the George
Romero-style zombie film and retools
it into a faster-paced, more visually ex
cessive monster.
The film's setup is simple. A vims is
accidentally unleashed in England,
turning all who are infected into mind
less, feral, zombie-like creatures. A few
i
survivors band together and try to es
cape the devastation. This premise is
used to remarkable advantage through
much of the film, with its scenes of an
abandoned London and the leftovers
of a civilization gone wild.
The characters are essentially card
board cutouts, bland personality
types that could be anybody. This is a
standard effect used in horror cinema
to make it easier to see yourself in the
place of the people on the screen.
Most films get it wrong, making the
characters so shallow and uninterest
ing that their inevitable deaths have
no effect on the audience. "Days,"
however, gets it right for most of the
film, making it easy for the audience
to connect with the characters.
Ihe visual style of the film is also ef
fective. Filmed on video, it has a
grainy, documentary feel to it that
adds a sense of immediacy to the hor
ror. It often feels like you're watching
front line war coverage on CNN. In
the later scenes, set in the rain-soaked
countryside, the speed of the camera
movements and the darkness create a
brilliant sense of disorientation, while
never leaving the viewer confused.
None of this is new, and many as
pects of the film can be found in hor
ror films of the past. The scenes of the
virus spreading through a population
and sending the infected into a vio
lent rage is reminiscent of David Cro
nenberg's "Rabid." And the film
seems to borrow something from
each installment of the "Night of the
Living Dead' trilogy. But I've never
been one to criticize a little postmod
ern recycling, and nothing here feels
blatantly derivative.
So what's wrong with the film?
What's keeping it from becoming
one of the classics of horror? Two
things. One is that many of the film's
set pieces don't come off right. For
example, a scene where the group of
survivors escape London by driving
through wreckage-clogged tunnel
could have been effective, but the
timing is off. It all happens so quick
ly and so pointlessly that no sus
pense is ever built.
The other problem with the film is
an ideological one. There are a few in
timations throughout pointing to the
idea that we are no different than
those infected by the disease. It's all
just "people killing people," as one of
the characters puts it.
The film can also work as a politi
cal allegory of modern day Great
Britain, but I think that's reading a
little too much into it. The problem
is that it never follows through with
its ideas, and ends on a lighter note
than what seems natural, given
what's taken place.
The truth is that in its heart of
hearts, the film doesn't contain the
dark, cynical nihilism of films like
"Night of the Living Dead." While
much of the film wallows in the kind
of despondency and terror it belongs
in, it doesn't go through with it into
the logical conclusion. This leaves "28
Days Later" as a generally well-done
— but still flawed — exercise in hor
ror cinema.
Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter for
the Emerald
Courtesy
Violinist Boyd Tinsley releases his first album without the Dave Matthews Band.
Albums
continued from page 5
while, and this one carries on the tradition proudly. There is
not an original lyric or musical passage in the entire album.
This is not to say the album is bad. It's just not that good.
Tinsley is a competent vocalist and his violin passages, of
which there are surprisingly few, are as good as anything
he's done in the DMB. But that's the problem. Tinsley never
surpasses anything he's done before in his regular gig. This
leaves the album with no point of interest, and hence no
reason for it to exist.
Now for you sorry saps who hark back to the glory days of
the DMB, there's O.A.R, which stands for "Of a Revolution,"
for those who don't know. The band has been a college cir
cuit favorite for the past few years now, and has been
likened to the Dave Matthews Band so often it's practically
become a cliche. What often gets missed is that they are a
tight, well-organized group with solid arrangements who
make engaging pop rock.
Their new album, "In Between Now and Then," is a good
mix of reggae-influenced beats and melodies straight out of
traditional American folk music. All of it is placed in the con
text of a college jam band, and it all works wonderfully. The
only problem is a tendency for repetitiveness, and after awhile
the songs start to sound more and more alike. A little variety
would have helped, but overall not a bad effort.
Last and least we have Switchfoot and their ungodly col
lection of "Dawson's Creek"-ready homogenized con
formity, entitled "The Beautiful Letdown." As a band,
Switchfoot rises to new levels of competence, repeating
bland riffs and angst-filled lyrics as if any move away from
the norm would result in complete commercial disaster.
They are the poor man's Creed, and I mean that in the
worst possible way.
So tormented was I by the unending assault of gutless, con
formist rock that I had to console myself by reading Richard
Meltzer's "A Whore Just Like the Rest," a source of all wisdom
Courtesy
Switchfoot has a new album, "The Beautiful Letdown.”
for the thoughtful rock critic. It reminds me that there has al
ways been awful music, and our duty is to sift the good out of
the bad, and hope someone will release something worth lis
tening to. I'm still waiting.
Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter for the Emerald.
Nyburg
continued from page 5
rarely offers opinions on the films,
only information. 1 low refreshing.
"Zombie," by Joyce Carol Oates.
One of the most disturbing books by
the master of modern American
r
gothic. The story is of paroled sex of
fender Quentin P, a cold, calculating
serial killer. Not a typical story for
Oates, but a good way for horror fans
to access her work. A good compan
ion to the film "I lenry: Portrait of a
Serial Killer."
'The Moviegoer," by Walker Percy.
A classic of American literature, this
book tells the story of a New Orleans
stockbroker looking for meaning and
authenticity in his life during Mardi
Gras. Has the spiritual power of Dos
toevsky mixed with the wit and irony
of a great Southern writer. Great for
those interested in Southern literature.
"Madness and Civilization," by
Michel Foucault. You get bonus
points on any college paper if you
can mention Foucault at least once,
and this would be a good work to ref
erence. Apart from that, it's an engag
ing and thoughtful history of civiliza
tion's perception of insanity, and a
great study of power and control in
our society.
Happy reading, bibliophiles.
Ryan Nyburg is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald. His opinions
do not necessarily represent those
of the Emerald.
IJ
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