In the house – in a heartbeat. 28 days later and its seminal score.
28 days later is one of the most well-regarded and well-rounded zombie horror films ever made. With Danny Boyle at the helm as director and a stellar cast to boot with stars such as Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Christopher Eccleston.
28 days later has gone on to be a cultural hit and most people may find the song to be synonymous with an outbreak of a zombie apocalypse if one was to ever break out with its dreary tones and a tip toe style of piano playing makes you truly wonder what could be lurking around the corner.
‘In the house – In a heartbeat’ is a song that can only be described as a brooding beast waiting to be unleashed upon the crowd. The song starts with the piano and the bass, with the guitar being brought in at around the thirty second mark while drums being played softly in the background with very slight hits of the ride cymbal and the banging on the floor tom to keep the song moving.
It’s not until the use of crashing cymbals do you realise that what we’re hearing is echoing the action that’s taking place on screen. We see our main protagonist of Jim (Cillian Murphy) fighting desperately to get back to his group as he mows down various enemies including zombies and most notably his group’s captors. The soundtrack bellows through the screen and like all (good) movies have you rooting for the character even more.
At the climax of the action, the song comes to a surprising conclusion. The song wraps itself up with a very mellow almost dream like end utilising soft guitar playing and the rest of the instruments being put to one side. This dream like end echoes how the film feels towards the conclusion of the story.
The film is shot in a very grainy way that adds to the grit and style that the film portrays. The streets are empty, everything has been shut down and humanity as we know it has gone. Although, at the very end when our group escapes the clutches of evil and appears to have made it to a safe place the film is being shown in a much less grainy and grittier look and style and is much more vibrant, colourful, and inviting which mirrors the end of the song.
In the house – in a heartbeat truly encapsulates the sense of despair that an apocalypse would make you feel and for a song to do that is a mark of a true classic.
Jacob Price