Imagine, if you will, an island completely cut-off from the rest of the continent, which stands isolated and alone as its neighbours continue with their lives largely uninterrupted. We could be talking about 28 Years Later, we could be talking about Brexit…
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Isolated, alone, and left to our own devices… Brexit or blockbuster?
Director Danny Boyle admitted this week that the long-awaited new instalment of his zombie horror franchise could be seen as an allegory for Brexit, saying that you can put the UK’s self-inflicted departure from the EU ‘up against the narrative’ and ‘read into the meaning’.
The flick, released earlier this week, has gained rave reviews over the last few days. It boasts a talented cast, including the likes of Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and takes the story in a new direction. It’s also hoped that another two sequels will be released in the coming years.
Why Danny Boyle is happy to compare 28 Years Later to Brexit
Boyle himself has alluded to comparisons between 28 Years Later and Brexit in recent weeks, commenting about how characters in his story are ‘looking towards the past’ – a sentiment which is largely attributed towards those who voted to leave in the 2016 Referendum.
The COVID-19 pandemic was, somewhat predictably, another source of inspiration for the award-winning director. He told Time Magazine that his new blockbuster also looks at how people eventually ‘take more risks’ in the advent of devastating and life-alternating events.
‘It is deliciously flexible’ – Danny Boyle
However, with several movie reviewers also drawing parallels between 28 Years Later and the withdrawal from the EU, Boyle told Sky News that Brexit is ‘one of the transparencies’ you can put against the film. And, as far as metaphors go, this one is pretty brutal.
“It’s a very ambitious picture of what’s happened to the British mainland. Horror is a wonderful genre because you can put transparencies against it, you can put COVID against it… you can put Brexit against it as well, and you read things into it like that and it’s deliciously flexible.” | Danny Boyle