Well here I am, sick in bed. What could be more appropriate than snuggling up with a couple of horror movies that I haven’t watched in a while…

28 Days Later, 2002
This is a very eerie and unusual film in the zombie movie category, far from what has become the typical Hollywood approach to the genre. Despite the violence of the opening scenes, the rest of the film is uncharacteristically non-violent. This gives what violence there is much more intensity and shock value – a fact often seemingly forgotten by film makers. It also features very little in the way of a sound track, and what little there is ads to the lonely, helpless feeling of those alone in a world full of ‘infecteds’.

There is, of course, the obligatory frolic in the supermarket which you will find in a lot of zombie movies – tapping in to our desire to go on an unlimited shopping spree with very few consequences.

It is the behavior of the uninfected people that is most disturbing. What a bunch of soldiers will do when left with no hope and nothing but rank and orders to hold them together, instead of friendship, family, and free will.

Directed by Danny Boyle (The Beach, Trainspotting) and starring Cillian Murphy in his break-out role (Batman Begins, Inception), as well as Naomie Harris (gorgeous in Skyfall and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), a nasty Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, Elizabeth), and lovable Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Braveheart).

28 Weeks Later, 2007
Now this is a completely different film. This is an example of what happens when Hollywood gets their hands on a low budget horror film and make a sequel – and it’s not a terrible example, just very different from the original. They clearly have a higher budget, and are going for a very different audience. The violence is far more extreme and constant, and the soundtrack is far louder.

We find ourselves in post-infection England. ‘Infecteds’ have died of starvation and the survivors are being reunited and rehoused with their families. However, to use a much beloved Jurassic Park quote – Life will find a way – or in this case the rage virus will.

The violence is far more gratuitous, thus losing a lot of the shock value. It is much more typical of the modern Hollywood zombie slash-fest (think Resident Evil). But the action is decent, even if the storyline has some flaws. As an aside, I love the reference to FUBAR (f**ked up beyond all recognition) which is an acronym dating back to WWII.

Stars Jeremy Renner, a year before his big break in The Hurt Locker, Aussie Rose Byrne (Damages, Troy), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting) and Harold Perrineau (Romeo + Juliet, Lost)