April 07, 2021

A perfect pairing of Sound & Vision - 28 Days Later


Imagine waking up in a hospital to find it deserted and thrashed. You've been in a coma for nearly a month, you're starved and dehydrated, there's no nurses or doctors around. There's no one outside, there's no traffic, there's no sound at all. And you're in the very heart of the city London. This is the predicament Jim (Cillian Murphy) finds himself in below.

 

The song is East Hastings and the band is Canadian experiment Godspeed You! Black Emperor and rarely has a song in a film so matched the action onscreen. Sparse strings nailing the disorientation Jim (and us) is feeling at the sight of empty streets that should be packed to bursting. Panic setting in with a chugging guitar riff overhead as the horror of the situation begins to hit home and then that rapid tempo shift (and a wicked jump scare) building to a brutal Trafalgar square set crescendo where Jim truly realises the enormity of the nightmare he's stuck in. It's terrifying stuff, director Danny Boyle has our nerves shredded before we even see a single thing. It's brilliantly economical film making, letting the music lead us through the clues before nailing us at the end. Poor Jim. This is only the start of a very crappy week for you bud.

Previous pairings

Beetlejuice

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