Pure Rage: The Making of 28 Days Later

Virus and infections

Andy Coghlan – New Scientist Magazine: The threat to us at the moment from infectious diseases is probably as big as it has ever been and getting worse.

Professor Brian Duerden – PHLS: We have to anticipate that there will be a major pandemic.

Andrew MacDonald – Producer: It is the new fear, isn’t it? Even with weapons of mass destruction, what everyone is reallyworried about is anthrax, small pox, those sort of things…

Brendan Gleeson “Frank” : The notion that we can put our faith in institutions and forget about them is what the danger is.

Narrator: In the last year of the 20th century, communicable diseases accounted for an estimated 25% of deaths worldwide … So the idea of a new killer epidemic infecting the country is not far-fetched at all.

Professor John Standford – University College London: Just as the Darwinian principles of Survival of the Fittest and evolution are accepted for mammals, then the same is happening at a much smaller level for bacteria and that whenever they are put under intolerable pressure as they may be by the common use of an antibiotic for example, then they will rapidly find a way around it.

Danny Boyle – Director: It’s a primate based virus, it’s hideously virulent…and it leads to the all permanent, appalling state of aggression.

The film

Cillian Murphy “Jim”: What you get in this film is the remnants of panic.

Christopher Eccleston “Major Henry West”: It opens up big philosophical things that whether it is a very modern disease or whether it was always been with us

Danny Boyle: It’s actually part of us and all it’s doing is bringing out something that we’re all capable of

Gleeson/Frank: We’ve fled this whole notion of Rage, and the modern malaise and the infection of it, and we come into something that’s even more frightening…where it’s every man for himself.

Murray/Jim: What attracted me most to the script was the intelligence on it and the issues it was trying to investigate and the comment it was making on society in general

Narrator: In maintaining a realistic edge to the film, the film makers decided to use a cast of less familiar actors

Naomie Harris “Selina”: She has had to shut down emotionally in order to survive, so she’s quite cold

Danny Boyle: There’s two kind of effects in the film really to try and create both of plausible world, a post-apocalyptic plausible world and also an atmospheric world that has a strange atmosphere about it.

Danny Boyle: It’s a warning for us as well as entertainment

Narrator: And the human race should be on high alert