Quote from Day remake's FX guy, Dean Jones

[darth los]

28 Days Later falls within the zombiefilm category since it uses the typical genre clichés, plotpoints and iconographies of the genre. Only difference is the little technicality about the infected vs. zombies. i would hardly call the difference between living and dead a little technicality.

[EvilNed]

From a genre point-of-view, it is. The Thing and Alien are both sci-fi/horror films. They fall within that genre. Despite the fact that they're probably not from the same planet, and they function differently.

[MinionZombie]

Darth - hehe, exactly. 28DL is a plague movie, like The Omega Man. It's apocalyptic. Not one of the infected people die, ergo - NOT zombies - ergo NOT a zombie film. The book cover might look like a zombie film, especially to the uneducated trogledites who's only exposure to zombies is the Thriller video and The Simpson's Halloween Special III.

[EvilNed]

The film still falls within the zombiegenre by using it's iconography and plotpoints. So it is a zombiefilm, even if it does not feature zombies. This is of course up to the eye of the beholder, but what is NOT subjective is the fact that it actually does use the same iconography and plot points as a zombiefilm. And this is what defines a genre. If I hadn't returned my Steve Neale book to the library, I would have quoted him and shown you, but he speaks of the definition of genre and how we classify it. 28 Days Later is most certainly a zombiefilm than as well as an apocalyptic film. It's both. Just like Land of the Dead and Day of the Dead.

[darth los]

The film still falls within the zombiegenre by using it's iconography and plotpoints. I think it's more because there's no other place to put it, so they just classify it as a zombie film. It's kind of like when they take job applications or a census. If your not white, black or hispanic they just lump you into the "other" catagory.

[EvilNed]

I think it's more because there's no other place to put it, so they just classify it as a zombie film. It's kind of like when they take job applications or a census. If your not white, black or hispanic they just lump you into the "other" catagory. Well, there's no other place to put Day either. So you put it in the Zombiefilm category, despite the fact that its VERY different from many other zombiefilms. 28 Days Later is put in the zombiefilms category, because that's where it belongs (just like Day). Now, these guys are probably not expers on genre-studies so they might very well have made a common mistake thinking the infected were zombies. But they're not wrong. The threat are not zombies, but since they are so close (and the film places itself in a apocalyptic world straight out of a zombiefilm), it still belongs to the zombiegenre. If you were to recommend a few good zombiefilms to someone, you wouldn't exclude 28 Days Later just because of that technicality of "where the threat comes from". It's close enough to a zombiefilm for you to include it on that list, seeing as it is a kickass film.

[darth los]

Well, there's no other place to put Day either. So you put it in the Zombiefilm category, despite the fact that its VERY different from many other zombiefilms. 28 Days Later is put in the zombiefilms category, because that's where it belongs (just like Day). Now, these guys are probably not expers on genre-studies so they might very well have made a common mistake thinking the infected were zombies. But they're not wrong. The threat are not zombies, but since they are so close (and the film places itself in a apocalyptic world straight out of a zombiefilm), it still belongs to the zombiegenre. If you were to recommend a few good zombiefilms to someone, you wouldn't exclude 28 Days Later just because of that technicality of "where the threat comes from". It's close enough to a zombiefilm for you to include it on that list, seeing as it is a kickass film. I wouldn't exclude 28 days later but i would explain to them that it's not technically a zombie film.

[MinionZombie]

If there's no zombies in it, then how on earth can it be a zombie film? That's like saying Starship Troopers is a musical ... it just doesn't have any song & dance numbers!

[EvilNed]

As I explained, MZ, 28 Days Later follows the iconography and plot-points of a zombiefilm. Which is what defines a genre! Starship Troopers does not follow the iconography or plot-points of a musical. Thus it's not.

[coma]

If there's no zombies in it, then how on earth can it be a zombie film? That's like saying Starship Troopers is a musical ... it just doesn't have any song & dance numbers! Springtime for bugs and buggery yoodledetoo!

[MinionZombie]

Springtime for bugs and buggery yoodledetoo! GLORIOUS. A zombie film needs one key element to be a zombie film - freaking ZOMBIES. How could you have a vampire film, or a werewolf film, or a Frankenstein film, without the central monster? 28DL is a plague movie, just like The Omega Man - so is The Omega Man a zombie film all of a sudden? APOCALYPSE/PLAGUE movie. *dusts hands ... I'm done*

[darth los]

28DL is a plague movie, just like The Omega Man - so is The Omega Man a zombie film all of a sudden? APOCALYPSE/PLAGUE movie. *dusts hands ... I'm done* LADIES AND GENTS WE HAVE A WINNER !!!! By that logic the creatures in the cave and the descent should be enough to constitute them vampire movies as well since the creatures avoid sunlight and feed on humans. For that matter let's call 28 days later a quasi-vampire film as well since the infected are nocturnal as well. I think the first question we shouls ask is, "are they dead." No dead, no zombie. Simple really.

[EvilNed]

A genre is not defined by the monsters that attack the protagonists, wether you like it or not. A genre is definded by it's iconography and it's plot-points. A western film has to take place in the west, right? But there's more to it than that, unfortunetly. Ravenous takes place in the West, but it's noway a western film. Also, both Dog Soldiers and The Howling are Werewolf films, despite being very different. 28 Days Later is also a apocalypse/plague film. As well as falling into the zombie-film genre category. It's not that hard to understand, really. A zombiefilm in the way that you mention it is just a term, not really a genre, because there's more than one single element (the existance of zombies) that make up a zombiefilm. If that were the case, all films featuring aliens would be alienfilms. Yet you have action films featuring aliens, horror films featuring aliens, political thrillers featuring aliens etc. etc. An alienfilm would just be a term to combine them all together, but not a genre. (and don't mention sci-fi, since that is an extremely broad genre)The same way you are using the zombiefilm term. In a genre-theory, 28 Days Later is a zombiefilm. The perfect example to prove this was the one I asked Darth. if you were going to recommend a few zombiefilms to someone, would you exclude 28 Days Later just because the threat in them are not technically (but extremely close) to zombies? No, you wouldn't.

[darth los]

28 Days Later is also a apocalypse/plague film. if you were going to recommend a few zombiefilms to someone, would you exclude 28 Days Later just because the threat in them are not technically (but extremely close) to zombies? No, you wouldn't. Although i don't agree with your overall arguement, those are valid points.

[EvilNed]

Although i don't agree with your overall arguement, those are valid points. Very few, if any films, belong to just ONE genre. Day of the Dead is an apocalypse film. Just like 28 Days Later. They're also both zombie-genre films.