The Position of Authorities in Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later

The position of authority is an important element in Zombie fiction. How authorities, usually in the form of governmental organizations, are represented is an essential part of the atmosphere created by the writer. 

In the case of Night of the Living Dead, authorities are presented as relatively competent and controlled. Responses are being organized from the very highest levels of the government, right down to local law enforcement. There is an element of cold war-era ‘contingency plans’ in the way in which the government is shown as dealing with the Zombie outbreak. 

In 28 Days Later, by contrast, government and authorities are entirely absent. The figures who initially appear to be the last vestiges of control, the military, have themselves reverted into trigger-happy thugs. Britain, as depicted in the film, is in a state of utter anarchy and desolation.

Both representations of authority emphasize different aspects of storytelling. In Romero’s film, the central characters are surrounded, with the goal being to break out. In Boyle’s, the leads wander a desolate land, their goals not being to escape, but simply to survive. While Romero tells a straight horror story with elements of humanity, Boyle tells a human story with elements of horror.