I decided to rewatch the 28 Days Later films in anticipation of 28 Years Later, with a small voice in my head wondering if there’s any purpose, considering the only connection is the universe, not a story that connects across familial generations.
My controversial opinion is that 28 Days Later is not aging well in some respects, which will likely anger some folk—an understandable emotion derived from nostalgia. And 28 Weeks Later, a standalone sequel—and strangely, does not feel like most fans accept it as part of the franchise—tonally shifts away from the original, honing more in a generic play by play, which, oddly enough, makes it more entertaining, but doesn’t necessarily mean it is better.
The challenge director Danny Boyle (also a fond reminder that he’s behind the likes of Yesterday, Trainspotting, and Sunshine) faced with 28 Years Later is that of time, and the proclivity for mass content in every genre makes the zombie apocalypse rather impossible. It’s been done so many times—some good, some bad—that it’s difficult to impress audiences with any amount of special effects or make-up. The Walking Dead set the standard, and many other titles refined it, like The Girl with All the Gifts, Kingdom, and Train to Busan. The peak of this genre, especially in the West, is attributed to The Last of Us, which is already struggling in viewership, as it focuses more on the story, and zombies no longer evoke the same shock.
It came as a surprise to me that Danny Boyle did not try to win a battle with the zombie genre. The director knew that he could not win a war already established and done to death. Instead, with 28 Years Later, the director instilled the essence of 28 Days Later as closely as possible. Boyle stuck to the aesthetic values of the first film (with slight tweaks to highlight the time that had passed and the evolution of zombies), which ensures that in the future, both of his movies fluidly work together, which is an incredible achievement.
I was stunned by 28 Years Later, not because I questioned the director’s abilities, but because it elevates the franchise, while simultaneously knocking on the door to be one of the best movies of 2025, and not just in the horror genre.
The story is set on the tidal island of Lindisfarne, located off the northeast coast of England. A village—and tight-knit community—has made life worth living, boxed off from the mainland, and the world before the apocalypse a mere myth, especially for the children. Spike (Alfie Williams), a 12-year-old boy destined to be a formidable zombie hunter, tests his skills and development on the mainland with his prideful father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train; Outlaw King; Avengers)—burdening both father and son is wife and mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), who is battling a mysterious illness—a predicament that changes the course of the story, especially for Spike.
28 Years Later injects many stories that are a delight to watch: the excitement of adventure, the curiosity that leads to overreach, the anxiety of impending peril, the father-son battle with pride, the downward spiral of a failing husband, the naturalistic urge to bring back loving motherhood, and of course, the importance of death, taboo in Western society.
That’s a lot to contend with, but Danny Boyle manages to smoothly bring these amazing sub-stories in multiple acts, providing an overarching premise while toying with his superb directorial vision.
28 Years Later succeeds because it doesn’t try to fit into a preconceived genre. As Boyle argued in the first movie, it’s not just a zombie film. It’s a profoundly human story, set in a specific time, where people are pitted against the forces of nature.
I’m also on TikTok Tok and you can watch my video review here:
@okayyy_dan
Here’s my review of ’28 Years Later’ and whether you should watch it ?? #28yearslater #28yearslatermovie #28dayslater #horrormovie #horrortok #filmtok #filmcritic #cinematok #zombieapocalypse #dannyboyle #movierecommendation
? Lofi/NightTempo/10 minutes(1463898) – nightbird_bgm
Spike, played brilliantly by Alfie Williams, is why the story works so well: he represents the need for adventure in 28 Years Later, regardless of his lack of maturity to gain that experience. If you consider his circumstances, Spike has only ever known his village and the way of life, but the community he resides in has limits. Adventure is only provided by hunting sessions on the mainland, and that is restricted by a small time window (due to low tide and high tide). In 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, the characters knew what the world had become. They wanted no part in it, and why would they when they were used to a world that offered a civilized framework? 28 Years Later offers a different proposition—what if a character, naively and curiously, set foot in the world and challenges themselves to expand their reality and knowledge of what’s possible?
Perhaps my perspective of 28 Years Later is far too deep, but the fact that I walked away from the cinema with a plethora of thoughts like this at least affirms my belief that Danny Boyle has achieved something worthy of discussion. While some audiences will have expected the thrill of sprinting zombies, I hung on to every word said and the advancement of each story act.
And this is all with Danny Boyle preaching his idea of human history; how we often repeat the same events, and he weaves excerpts of human history, into the editing, almost as a salient message to his audience that we are, creatures of habit, set in a chaotic cycle that we struggle to endure.
28 Years Later is twice the film that 28 Days Later is—it’s arguably one of Boyle’s best films. The director has outdone himself by raising his beloved universe to another level that I did not think was achievable.