28 Years Later (2025)

Review

115min

Genre:       Horror, Thriller

Director:     Danny Boyle

Cast:         Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer…and more

Writers:     Alex Garland

-Synopsis-

Nearly three decades after the “Rage Virus” destroyed Britain, and the failed subsequent attempt to control it and re-populate the nation, a group of northern survivors scratch a simple living on a small offshore island of the strictly quarantined country. But their relatively peaceful existence is turned upside down when a mother and son leave for the dangerous mainland on a mission to unravel a secret and find help, only to face a terrifying struggle for survival when discover the savagery and madness of the wild world that has evolved a stone’s throw away.

Twenty-three years after they revolutionised dystopian horror and redefined the zombie sub-genre (and yes we know the infected are not technically zombies) with 2002’s ’28 Days Later’, British director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland reunite to round off a sterling UK post-apocalyptic survival thriller trilogy and set up a further franchise in style.

Alfie Williams stars as young island dweller “Spike”, living a simple post-apocalyptic existence in the English Northeast with his ailing mysteriously stricken mother “Isla” (Jodie Comer) and his brash and resourceful father “Jamie” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), intent on teaching his boy about hunting the infected and the harsh realities of the picturesque but brutal wilderness of the outside world. But when their dangerous excursion to the mainland opens his eyes and raises uncomfortable questions, Spike takes his troubled mother to flee their sanctuary for the dangerous wild in search of answers, struggling to escape from the savage and their fearsome “Alphas” while finding help from wild and willing survivor “Dr. Kelson” (Ralph Fiennes), and coming face-to-face with their destiny.

Having made the 2002 original as a largely London-centric tale and with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 2007 sequel ’28 Weeks Later’ set almost entirely in the capital, Boyle and Garland move the action here to the Northwest of England and set the story around the Tyne and Wear area. Boyle and his trusty cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire) take advantage of some truly beautiful British landscapes in the local area and well beyond, shooting the film in several stunning locations across the country whilst going surprisingly modern by relying largely on iPhone 15s as the film’s principal camera, albeit using multiple phones at a time on complex rigs for maximum coverage and minimal environmental impact. Employing a mix of dynamic, sometimes jarring shots and camera work, from the atmospheric low angles and close-ups typical of the 2002 original to the panoramic wide shots and overheads of the bigger budget follow up.

As you would expect from a film in what is now the “28” franchise, ’28 Years Later’ is a visceral and butt-clenching ride of a post-apocalyptic survival thriller, packed with the perpetual threat of a new generation of free-swinging infected who have become more feral and clearly take their cues from the animal kingdom as well as mythology and folklore, complete with different species and hierarchies, one more savage than the other . . . . but with a few surprises too. All of which make for some taut brutal chase scenes and action sequences through the English wilderness and the remnants of human civilisation.

Yet despite its predecessors and an undeniable horror DNA, ’28 Years Later’ marks a valiant if not quite completely successful attempt at injecting more genuine human drama and true pathos into the franchise, serving as a sort of brutal meditation on illness, death and loss, and proving as much of a family tragedy and coming-of-age tale as it is a terrifying survival thriller, without really excelling at either. What’s undeniable though is that Alex Garland weaves a narrative that’s completely comfortable and in tune with death and all its facets, at times to powerful effect and at others with brutal and macabre results.

While much of the weight of the action and dark thrills falls on the shoulders of several extras and the brave actors playing some fearsome and disturbingly crafted infected, the burden of the drama is carried by the small but well-formed ensemble cast, with the dependably excellent Jodie Comer and the solid Aaron Taylor-Johnson admirably leading the line, whilst the great Ralph Fiennes injects some macabre eccentricity and contributes to the unexpected humour of the film. But it’s the film’s youngest star and the heart of the piece Alfie Williams who ultimately carries ’28 Years Later’ over the line, as the local teen actor delivers a mature performance which promises to kickstart a career, bringing to life a young post-apocalyptic hero who may yet carry this franchise forward.

Even though there is much to admire here, ’28 Years Later’ isn’t quite the triumph we might have hoped it would be. Gone is much of the game-changing novelty of the earlier films, and with the switch in narrative balance it’s nowhere near as tense or terrifying as its predecessors despite being at times equally visceral and brutal, and while there is a commendable effort at a poignant family drama tale of loss it never quite packs the intended emotional punch.

Yet despite its shortcomings and the common handicap of being a third film in a series long after the first two, ’28 Years Later’ is a pulsating and gripping thrill ride which grabs you by the throat throughout. Proving that there’s still a place for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s dystopian British cinematic universe in this harsher, darker, more cynical post-pandemic world, and indeed it probably reflects our times even more closely. Making way for a likely sequel and possible brace of films to come if the ending and director/producer Boyle’s words are anything to go by . . . box office results and industry turmoil allowing of course.

The Bottom Line…

A brutally enthralling and moody visceral post-apocalyptic British survival thriller with heart and plenty of style, ’28 Years Later’ may not hit the heights of the unforgettable 2002 origin story or its solid 2007 sequel but Danny Boyle and Alex Garland cinematic reunion still proves a success, and a welcome reunion which delivers a gripping cinematic experience and sets up further misadventures in a feral infected world.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

28 Days Later (2002)

A young man wakes up to find the streets of London completely deserted only to find that a mysterious “Rage” virus has killed off the majority of people across the country and turned the rest into highly-contagious ravenous zombie-like “Infected”, after making contact with the few surviving people they must escape the city to find any remaining survivors without being torn apart or infected themselves.

Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris and Brendan Gleeson among others.

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