The Joyful Sound of the Apocalypse

A big reason zombie film '28 Years Later' feels so fresh and unique is the score by Young Fathers

- Uday Bhatia

It begins with a couple of voices harmonizing, warm and layered like a Beach Boys song. Deep male voices add staccato wordless grunts. A high-pitched lead vocal enters. You can barely make out the words, but there's no mistaking the fervor. There's a brief lull, and it restarts with devotional force, a wall of sound that suggests the breaking of a magnificent dawn.

This is what we hear, from minute two to five of Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later. Here's what we see. Eight children are seated in front of the TV. There's a commotion on the other side of the door. A woman rushes in, deposits another child, tells them not to move, and runs out. Then there's a banging on the door, which a flaxen-haired boy considers opening. As he hesitates, zombies burst into the room. Blood splatters across the TV screen. The boy runs out, only to see his mother bitten and vomiting blood. He runs to the church where his priest father is praying. The man isn't interested in saving himself or his son, and is carried off by a zombie horde.

Finally, we see the boy running through green fields, clutching his father's cross.