Danny Boyle brings ‘fast’ zombies to the region
Written by Sam Clark on 27th September 2024
Cillian Murphy in a scene from 28 Days Later (2002).
Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle has been in the North East filming his latest film, 28 Years Later, the highly anticipated third instalment in the horror series.
Recognisable locations in the film will include Northumberland, Hexham, Waskerley, Lindisfarne, Ripon, Aysgarth Falls and Fountains Abbey, and Melsonby, which have been used to bring the dystopian horror to life.
Oscar-winning Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) is set to return to the series after appearing in the first film back in 2002; the first project to give him movie star status.
New cast members include Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter) and Aaron-Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass).
The film follows 2002’s 28 Days Later, which was directed by Boyle and starred Murphy alongside the likes of Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter) and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who).
2007 then saw the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, directed by Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and starring the likes of Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting), Rose Byrne (Bad Neighbours) and Idris Elba (Pacific Rim). Each were critically well received upon first release.
Both films revolved around a sudden viral outbreak which turns its victim into ‘fast’, relentless zombies and ended up shining a new light onto the zombie genre; mainly due to the fact that ‘fast’ zombies were fairly uncommon.
Film director Danny Boyle is no stranger to the North East.
Danny Boyle has teamed up once again with frequent collaborator Alex Garland to pen the script for the latest installment.
Garland is a successful science-fiction author whose previous screenplay credits include Ex Machina, Sunshine and Annihilation. Boyle also made his book The Beach into a film.
On a more historical note, however, this marks the first time that a blockbuster (the film has a reported $75million dollar budget) has been filmed on an iPhone.
Fans of the first instalment in particular will have plenty to be excited about, given that the same writer/director duo is back again. 28 Years Later releases in cinemas on June 20, 2025.
