Danny Boyle: "The horrors of the world are so evident that one cannot turn away."
The British director returns to the universe of '28 Days Later' with the sequel '28 Years Later'.
MadridThe film director's signature Boyle Damage (Trainspotting) and that of the screenwriter Alex Garland (Civil War) arrive in theaters hand in hand with a genre that, in Boyle's own words, "continues to work and has its audience": horror. Starting this Friday, viewers will be able to transport themselves once again to an inhospitable England ravaged by a virus that has infected the citizens and transformed them into zombies,
A 28 years later, Boyle intends to return to the universe previously drawn in the films 28 days later (2001) and 28 weeks later (2007). Since then, the world has changed a lot, and in fact, this new installment, the first of a future trilogy, raises questions that, for the director, are not far removed from what has been experienced in recent years: the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, or the genocide in Gaza. "That's the incredible thing about horror films. If you take a transparency of the reality of the film and contrast it with the reality of the world, you realize how much they can coincide. In fact, in the [real] world you see images that are even more horrifying than in the film," Boyle reflects at a screening in Madrid.
This is what, according to Boyle, drives viewers to want to continue going to theaters to see films of this genre: "The horrors of the world are so evident that you can't turn your back on them. So now we want to see the horrors and process them."
Parallels with reality
The world was already immersed in COVID-19 when the film was being shot. "We were no longer speculating about what an apocalyptic world might look like. We were shaking hands with gloves, wearing masks, and disinfecting everything we touched. We were afraid of the unknown," Boye reflects. This fear of the coronavirus mirrors the fear that those living outside of England have of zombies in the film, since touching them means becoming infected. But there comes a time, as in the pandemic, when risks must be taken. "You couldn't live [in lockdown] forever," the director recalls.
Next to England is a small piece of land where uninfected English people take refuge. Despite their fear of zombies, they must venture into the island in search of food and supplies to live on, even if this may mean never returning home alive. The film focuses on this connection between the two worlds: a father, played by actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, pushes his son (Alfie Williams) into the infected zone. This not only means facing fear, but also violence and death. However, the son eventually finds the answers to all his questions on the island, especially regarding the illness his mother (Jodie Comer) suffers from. "The father tries to teach him techniques to become a man, and ends up transferring his traumas to him. Instead, the son searches for answers, and is on a second journey with his sick mother, both alone, when he finds them," Taylor-Johnson reflects.
"What I hope the audience will perceive is that, in the end, the boy is able to discover his own path, and his mother helps him a lot here," adds the director. In fact, although the film is full of brutal images, and even touches on the limits of gore, there is also room for human scenes, such as the birth of a child to an infected mother and the decision of the son and mother to save them. "The whole time it's a they [infected] and us [uninfected], and this scene reminds us that, in the end, others aren't so different. It hit me hard," recalls Judie Comer.
Using the iPhone
Less technologically advanced, but more aesthetically pleasing. This is one of the sensations that emerge from the film a few minutes after it begins. It's immediately apparent that the cameras used are not the usual ones. The film was shot primarily with iPhones, which in turn were equipped with multiple accessories. "It's a technological challenge and I find it very motivating," says Boyle. For the actors, on the other hand, there's a certain sense of "invasion," says Aron Taylor: "You feel a little more vulnerable and exposed, much more present with the other actors [...] You're constantly looking for answers about how it will turn out, and the director [Danny Boyle] says, 'I don't know, but.'"