Britain isn't just the home of Paddington Bear, infamous dentistry, and colonialism. In the 28 Days Later universe, it's also the place where, circa. 2002, the Rage Virus spread like wildfire and turned human beings into vicious, speedy zombies. As its title indicates, 28 Years Later begins 28 years after this apocalyptic scourge began. Surviving humans have carved out new, heavily fortified lives just to survive from one day to the next. This includes an isolated island community that 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) and his parents Isla (Jodie Comer) and Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) call home.
Here, they're safe from the zombies, but visits to the mainland are still necessary to retrieve essential supplies. On Alfie’s 12th birthday, Jamie takes Spike on his very first trip to the ruins of civilization. Here, Jamie encourages Spike to kill any undead beings they encounter. To slaughter is to earn his father’s approval. However, Spike has more things on his mind beyond how many arrows he can plunge into zombie skulls. Isla is stuck in bed all day, clearly disconnected from reality. What’s wrong with her? Is there perhaps salvation for her somewhere beyond his island home? Jamie bring Spike out for zombie hunting is a coming-of-age ritual. However, this kid will soon have to grow up in other, unexpected ways to ensure his mom’s safety.
As Jamie and Spike venture out to the walkway (only accessible at low tide) connecting the island to the mainland, director Danny Boyle and editor Jon Harris frenetically cut from these 28 Years Later figures to archival footage of British soldiers and film characters. These figures from yesteryear load up cannons, firing arrows at enemy soldiers, or otherwise revel in violence at “the other.” Hip hop artists Young Fathers (who provide the film's score) accompany this montage with dissonant noises and the Taylor Holmes reading of Rudyard Kipling’s "Boots" that worked so well in the 28 Years Later trailer.
This intentionally disorienting sequence is all about blurring a fictionalized future with our all-too-real past. Murder largely defines Western society’s definitions of masculinity. Existing as a “proper” man in colonizer-created spaces means getting blood on your hands and scrambling to the top of any hierarchical chain. With the world collapsing, the 28 Years Later characters could create something new from the ashes, improve on the past. This stirring montage, though, sends chills up one’s spine even before a zombie has lurched onto the screen. Jamie is proudly continuing this toxic cycle through insisting his son embrace killing. Even in a post-apocalyptic Hellscape, Boyle shows that humanity's worst inclinations fester.
So begins a coming-of-age yarn for Spike. 28 Years Later doesn’t regurgitate the premises of its predecessors, oh happy day. Instead, a new narrative emerges first and foremost prioritizing this kid grappling with various visions of adult masculinity, including Swedish soldier Erik Sundqvist (Edvin Ryding). Who will Spike become as he grows up? Alex Garland’s script ruminates on whether or not he’s entirely destined to just follow in his father's or grandfather’s (the latter of whom Isla says he looks just like) footsteps. Boyle and Garland happily let quieter dialogue scenes focused on these matters simmer without reflexively reaching for a shoehorned-in jump scare.
Fret not 28 Days Later and zombie movie devotees yearning for carnage. Also a tip-top objective for this endeavor? Zombie mayhem. Lots of new zombies, from plump undead humans existing in the woods to that Alpha, fill up the screen. There’s also striking new visuals used to realize zombie deaths, as Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle use 180-degree camera spins and freeze-frame techniques to accentuate the sight of arrows thrusting themselves into zombie flesh. The image of that nefarious Alpha zombie holding up human or animal heads with spines dangling underneath certainly delivers for all you fellow gruesome cinema freaks out there.
Surprisingly, juggling undead carnage and intimate human moments isn’t a problem for 28 Years Later. Bold visual tendencies unite both sides of this zombie feature. The immersive, fast-paced camerawork used to realize Alpha chasing after our heroes echoes quiet, equally absorbing imagery of Isla in a field of flowers reminiscing about her father (who saunters into the frame from the neck-down). Plus, Boyle consistently deploys those titled angles and low-angle images he’s been fond of since his Trainspotting days. Visuals provide harmony between the grisly and tender in 28 Years Later.
Unfortunately, the production is more disjointed in other respects. For starters, Boyle’s vision struggles realizing standard narrative impulses with its visual style. 28 Years Later, particularly in its first act, often materializes like a never-ending montage, which means audiences get only fleeting glimpses of the village Spike calls home. Hints of this place’s darker nature (namely, depictions of kids younger than Spike being trained to kill with target practice on mannequins) manifest but never leave an impact. This location works as a basic backdrop for intentionally disorienting images. However, attempts to intertwine it with explorations of unkillable toxic masculinity never quite click.
Meanwhile, Spike’s tormented home life relies heavily on Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s acting chops. This means intimate sequences of familial strife channeling Eugene O’Neill or Tennessee Williams also register as undercooked. A key moment where Jamie lashes out at his son falls completely flat thanks to Taylor-Johnson’s limp line deliveries. His subsequent depiction of Jamie immediately displaying “remorse” is also restricted through this Kraven the Hunter’s veteran’s dismal facial acting. The likes of Comer and Ralph Fiennes are delivering West End-worthy work in 28 Years Later. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, meanwhile, keeps sinking critical first-act sequences between Spike and Jamie.
The tug-of-war between successful and underwhelming 28 Years Later even bubbles to the surface in some of the film’s visuals. There are plenty of great shots here, including the color choices in an early overhead shot of Dr. Ian Kelson (Fiennes) hobbling through the wasteland with a wagon looking for corpses. Similarly, beautiful shots of Isla and Spike wandering through a field echo similar imagery from Lynne Ramsay's masterpiece Ratcatcher. In both cases, a gorgeous, seemingly unending natural locale provides a grand respite from the abuses of “the normal world.”
However, whenever 28 Years Later strives for more grandiose imagery, Boyle and company trip over their feet. Specifically, a major early chase scene of Jamie and Spike running away from Alpha looks distractingly digital, particularly since it’s realized in wide shots emphasizing a CG nighttime backdrop. Immediately, the tension evaporates through artificiality trying too hard to emulate reality. Smaller-scale digressions throughout 28 Years Later make use of inspired visual manuevers such as night-vision colors to capture bits of gruesome zombie mayhem. Similar creative choices for this and other bigger set pieces could’ve ensured 28 Years Later fully maintained its ominous atmosphere.
28 Years Later is an ambitious new chapter in a familiar horror universe. Its greatest shortcomings, unfortunately, take over when it channels modern-day blockbuster norms. This includes a clumsy cliffhanger ending too overtly reminding audiences how 28 Years is the first part of a trilogy. However, there’s also a lot of audacious material in here, including the outstandingly eclectic Young Father score and what’s bound to be one of the quietest third acts (complimentary) for any summer 2025 tentpole. Its most effective emotional moments revolving around adolescent turmoil nicely suggest this title took all the right cues from classic Ken Loach films. Jumbled and flawed, 28 Years Later still finds some new life in this distinctly British take on the undead.