Happy Goat Horror

Dark bleatings, my beloved tribe! If there’s one thing I love, it’s trivia about my favourite horror films/books/games/soundtracks/etc. I can never remember why I’ve walked into a room, but my brain has no problem retaining any and all useless horror trivia.

So I’ve decided to share it with you! I’m hoping that if I pass on my useless movie knowledge to you guys, it’ll make room in my brain for important things, like where I left my keys.

1. Did you know… that 28 Days Later is writer Alex Garland’s first screenplay?

Honestly, I don’t know who this guy thinks he is writing something of this calibre for his first feature. I’m green with envy and sick with jealousy, quite frankly. He went on to write such other films as Annihilation (2018), Ex Machina (2014), and most recently, Men (2022).

2. Did you know… about the LARP?

Inspired by the film, a company called Slingshot created a Live Action Role Play game called ‘2.8 Hours Later’. It toured around the UK, setting up in several cities. Players had to dodge the “infected” whilst making their way through checkpoints. It eventually grew so popular that because of the liability insurance, amongst other things, it was no longer financially viable to run, and so it went bye bye.

To this day, not getting to participate in that LARP is one of my deepest, most painful regrets!

3. Did you know… Robert Carlyle was supposed to be in it?

He was offered the role of Major Henry West, but had other commitments so he had to turn it down. The role was taken by Christopher Eccleston instead. In my humble opinion, this all worked out for the best. Eccleston seems a better fit for that role, and the situation freed Carlyle up to play Don in the sequel, 28 Weeks Later. I think it’s one of his best performances, and the opening scene where he’s fleeing the infected is my single favourite horror scene of all time.

4. Did you know… 28 Days Later isn’t the first “running zombies” film?

It’s always referred to as the first, but it isn’t. Sort of like how a lot of people think The Blair Witch Project was the first found-footage film, but it isn’t. 28 Days Later might not have invented running zombies, but it definitely DID popularise and elevate the idea and thrust it into the mainstream.

In case you’re wondering, there’s a runner chasing a car in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.

Funnily enough, George Romero never referred to his zombies as zombies (he called them “ghouls”), and neither did Danny Boyle (he calls his zombies “infected”). Arguably the two directors that invented our most modern zombie concepts, and they never thought of them as zombies while they were filming.

I wish I was talented enough to accidentally invent an entire subgenre.

5. Did you know… about the alternative endings?

There are two, and both of them make the film end in a totally different tone. The cinematic release shows Jim, Selena, and Hannah living in a remote cottage, waving to a passing helicopter. It gives us the warm impression that they’re relatively safe, and that perhaps things in the UK are starting to look up.

The first alternative ending kills Jim off. He dies in hospital after rescuing Selena and Hannah from the army perverts.

The second alternative ending shows us Jim dying in hospital, and then goes further to show Selena and Hannah at the cottage. I suppose it’s still a “things are looking up” ending, in the broader sense of the universe, but it’s pretty grim for Jim!

I’m very much a fan of the ending they decided to run with and I’m glad they let Jim live.

Do you know any other cool trivia about this film? I’d love to hear it, let me know!