28 Days Later (2002), Directed by Danny Boyle
Realism is the best quality of 28 Days Later, which stars Cillian Murphy in the lead role. What would happen if a highly contagious virus created zombie-like creatures? The movie thwarts past notions about how one becomes a zombie, while sticking close enough to horror lore to retain zombie elements. Like Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead, it uses the concept of the zombie apocalypse and takes it into the 21st century.
This sci-fi flick begins when animal activists release a chimpanzee infected with what the movie calls Rage. It attacks the activists and passes the virus to them, creating a global epidemic. Twenty-eight days later, Jim (Murphy) wakes up from a coma and realizes London is deserted, save for few uninfected survivors and Rage-addled monsters that want to devour him.
May (2002), Directed by Lucky McKee
This film is the most nuanced of the five mentioned in this list, but will be appreciated by zombie film lovers for its mix of psychosis and bloody dismemberment.
Troubled May Dove Kennedy, played by Angela Bettis, is awkward and odd. Her doctor suggests she wear an eye patch to cover her lazy eye, but that only makes her stick out more in school, prompting serious bullying. When May’s eye is fixed, she tries to become more social, but fails. In response, she decides to dismember those that wronged her and use their body parts to create her very own human doll.
