Dual Review: John Murphy - 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later OST

Genre: Soundtrack
Name: John Murphy
Album: 28 Days Later OST and 28 Weeks Later OST
"Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination..."

Soundtracks are often rather dull and unimaginative. However, these two are far from that. Not only is the music exceptionally good, but it also evokes memories of amazingly well written scenes.

Like much of the internet, I am somewhat of a zombie-apocalypse aficionado. I have a plan for escaping from zombies in any place I might be (at the moment, it consists of running down to the compound where the guns are kept, stocking up on small arms, and then securing transport in order to make it to the nearby NATO headquarters, and recieve support and arms and food from there). When the zed finally arrive (and they will arrive), I am fairly confident that I will be ready for them. Most of this preparation is the result of watching far too many zombie movies (all hail Zombieland!), and these films are but two of those.

For those of you who have not seen these two movies, they are as follows. 28 Days Later consists of Cillian Murphy awakening in a deserted hospital, and discovering that, whilst he has been in a coma, a virus has infected the population, turning them into mindless hordes of the undead. Upon accidentally irritating a few of The Infected, he runs to safety, and some new-found friends kindly blow up a petrol station to save him. They then, after a few plot twists, proceed up to Manchester, or thereabouts, by taxicab, seeking "the solution for infection". Needless to say, not all goes well.
28 Weeks Later is the next in the series, but has no returning characters. The American army have come in to the deserted Britain, with the infected all starved to death, and set up a "quarantined green" zone on the Isle of Dogs. However, again, the plan goes awry, and there are several excellent scenes full of pathos, and some cool sniping.
Both films are rather awesome, and I would definately recommend watching them (they're Danny Boyle's work, if that's an incentive). In a more relevant vein, however, the soundtracks are even more impressive than the films. Since both albums are similar in style and result (with, as one would expect, recurring motifs in the pair of soundtracks), I need only to go into detail on one, and have chosen the original.

The 28 Days Later OST was composed by John Murphy, of Sunshine fame, and cover a wide variety of styles. The predominant style - or, at least, the one that is retained most readily by my mind - is the use of distorted guitars, but it is far from the only one employed. There are developments on Fauré's Requiem in D Minor and Bach, for instance, and use of Anglican hymns, in conjunction with the synth-dominated tunes of "A.M. 180". The effect of this range is to provoke a spectrum of emotions, from euphoric bliss to abject despair. However, without a doubt one piece stands out - "In The House - In A Heartbeat". It is brilliantly composed, makes excellent use of dynamics, and is simple, yet so very effective. If you listen to nothing else from this, listen to that one track. It is the epitome of Murphy's work - indeed, he has chosen to reuse that piece in a variety of films, notably Kickass (he did a similar thing with Sunshine's score) - and very much worth a listen.


Summary: Pathos-ridden soundtracks from zombie-killin' movies.
Rating: 9/10
Track listing:

28 Days Later OST:

1. The Beginning
2. Rage
3. The Church
4. Jim's Parents (Abide With Me)
5. Then There Were 2
6. Tower Block
7. Taxi (Bach's Ave Maria
8. The Tunnel
9. A.M. 180
10. An Ending (Ascent)
11. No More Films
12. Jim's Dream
13. In Paradisum (Faure's Requiem in D minor)
14. Frank's Death
15. I Promised Them Women
16. The Search For Jim
17. Red Dresses
18. In The House - In A Heartbeat
19. The End
20. Season Song
21. End Credits

28 Weeks Later OST:
1. 28 Theme
2. Welcome to Britain
3. Helicopter Chase
4. Fire-bombing London
5. Theme 1
6. Walk to Regents Park
7. Kiss of Death
8. Don Abandons Alice
9. London Deserted
10. Go Go Go!
11. Theme 2
12. Knock Knock - Cottage Attack
13. Night Watch
14. Code Red
15. Going Home
16. Tammy Kills Her Dad
17. Crowd Breaks Out
18. Outbreak
19. Leaving England
20. End Credits (Theme 3)

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