Danny Boyle tries to save the British film industry.

What would you think if you woke up naked in a London hospital then stumbled outside to find yourself entirely alone, save for small groups of diseased murderers? Well, you might think you were in an 70s monster movie – and you'd be pretty close.

In reinventing the zombie genre, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach) employs a few strokes of the usual genius. Firstly, he casts unknown Irish actor Cillian Murphy in the lead. “We did that because when he wakes up it could be you,” he told Collective. “It can't be Ben Affleck. And so it becomes a huge journey from this rather beautiful, childlike, naked figure at the beginning, to the end where he emerges as this terrible vengeful force.”

He also sets this tale of viral apocalypse in the familiar, but altered, surroundings of a deserted present-day London, rather than a futuristic wilderness. “Our approach was, rather than create the devastation of an apocalypse, to try and empty London. That was the metaphor to suggest the world had changed.”

Unfortunately, while his monsters are suitably monstrous, Boyle overestimates their psychological impact. And while expertly shot on DV with all the director’s trademarks, including colour saturation, 28 Days Later… ends up being a scary movie rather than an emotionally engaging one.

But as Boyle says, “When you make a film you believe in it in a truly naive and innocent way. You put all your faith and hope and work into it. So, of course, if somebody craps on it it's really painful. But I think it's much better to try and retain that state of innocence.” He hasn't failed. Kate Wilson 31 October 02

28 days later, on national release 1 Nov 02.

useful link: www.28dayslaterthemovie.co.uk