28 Days Later

The28 Days Lateropening shot filmed in an empty London features some of the most iconic moments . Made on a shoe - chain budget of $ 8 million,28 Days Laterdidn’t have the resourcefulness to shut down Brobdingnagian areas of London so as to film its opening move moments , which feature Cillian Murphy ’s bicycle courier Jim wandering through deserted street after waking up from a coma a month after the catastrophe . The film received praise thanks to its authentic flavour , with many scenes seeming totally naturalistic even though London was completely functional during filming .

The movie brought a dissimilar take on what was essentially the zombie spirit genre . While these were not automaton , but alternatively infected mortal during a pandemic in London,28 day Laterfollowed the same format . Only a quality few mankind remained live in the city , and they had to survive the infected as they tore through the survivors . With so many the great unwashed either dead or infect , it was important for Danny Boyle to make the city bet empty , which seems impossible in one of the prominent metropolitan arena in the world . What is impressive is that he not only pulled it off but did so in a manner that looked like London was empty .

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How The 28 Days Later Empty London Scenes Were Filmed

While the opening to28 Days LaterandThe Walking Deadare strikingly similar , they were filmed in very different fashion . The empty London in 28 day subsequently did n’t use any CGI , and the scenes were achieved using a simple technique — waking up originally . In a 2019 interview , Cillian Murphy revealed howthese knavish scenes were filmed ( viaGQ ) . The crew needed to begin work in the former minute of the good morning and wait for dawn to break up to start filming before the city scram busy.28 Days Laterused many small , easily manoeuvrable photographic camera , allowing the crew to gather footage quick and with a naturalistic texture , with the early minute of the morning providing the eerie silence that makes these scenes so shuddery .

" They would necessitate hoi polloi to block off walk , and then the art department would arrive in and dress it really quickly . And they had cameras all over the place . "

London ’s Westminster Bridge is familiar thanks to the landmark that surround it , with Big Ben on one side and the London Eye on the other . Filming scenes on Westminster Bridge that are supposed to show a bleak London is an unbelievable feat since the Bridge is situated decently in the nerve center of the city and is one of the busy thoroughfares because of its proximity to the Houses of Parliament and the South Bank.28 twenty-four hours Later’sharrowing sceneson Westminster Bridge display the void of abandoned London , and is perhaps the most iconic shot in28 Days afterward , prove that Danny Boyle ’s unlawful and sloshed - budget filming techniques certainly paid off .

Cillian Murphy as Jim in front of Big Ben in 28 Days Later.

Why 28 Days Later’s Empty London Scenes Make The Film

The purpose of28 Days Later’sbridge scenes was both to introduce the audience to Jim , and also to introduce Jim to his fresh , shameful world . These moments set the tone for the rest of the film , deliver the toned - down and stripped - back tactile property that carried on from start to finish . These initial scenes also worked to show the desolation that was due to the fury virus , as it ’s much unheard of to see London with nobody wandering around or any traffic on the streets at all . It ’s theopening moments of28 Days Laterthat make it involve as one of the greatest British horror films of all time , specially down to the surprising emptiness of the city and because of Murphy ’s fantastic performance as Jim in these second .

Other cinematography locations in28 Days Laterinclude the Trafalgar Park residence in Salisbury and a rural bungalow in Ennerdale , Cumbria , though it was surely the picture taking place in Central London and the M1 Motorway that were the most unmanageable to pull in off . Despite their trouble , it ’s the eeriness of these moments that make this film so watchable , again and again . Murphy and Imogen Poots from28 Weeks Laterhave both express interest in recapitulate their roles , so the emptyworld put down out in28 sidereal day Latercould uphold to prepare , though they may have a bigger budget this sentence around .

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Cillian Murphy as Jim running away from a zombie in flames in 28 Days Later

28 Days Later’s Empty London Shows What Can Be Achieved Without CGI

The hard piece of work Danny Boyle take on to make London look empty in28 Days Lateropened some eye in Hollywood on how to film aspect without pay so much for CGI . Not only could this preserve money , but it would also await more realistic when compared to obviously computer - generated empty cities . One example of a pic that followed in its footstep was the moving-picture show , I Am Legend , based on the Holy Writ by Richard Matheson .

Not only do the two movies share a common trait in subverting revulsion movie figure of speech , withI Am Legendusing vampires in an original manner , but they also both prove a major metropolitan area empty — without using too much CGI.I Am Legendshowed an empty New York Citysimilar to the emptyLondon in28 Days Laterby spending $ 40 million to shut down actual NYC street to shoot there . While it did n’t save money , it did tot authenticity to the shots , with a little CGI added to eliminate anyone who wandered into a scene .

However , while perhaps grander in setting than the28 Days LaterLondon , and arguably better use of goods and services of CGI thanI Am Legend ’s now fabulously date stamp - expect infected , both achieve the same effect . Which is a better visual sense of an apocalyptic city is unbelievably subjective . That being read , the fact that it ’s such a close debate show that28 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. Laterproved — at the advent of figurer - sire images appearing wholesale in movies — why CGI would never be a substitute for good , solid film - making .

Cillian Murphy walking through a deserted London street in 28 Days Later.

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Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville and his loyal companion Sam in I Am Legend.

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28 Days Later