“No man is an Island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” – John Donne
“28 Years Later” is not merely more of its predecessor “28 Days Later,” in the way that “Aliens” simply grew the main antagonist from the first entry. Danny Boyle’s follow-up to his 2002 film is very much an expansion of the established world. It turns out, a lot can happen in just a few decades. On screen and in our lives, wars can be waged, and stopped, and started again—others forever ongoing. Political fortunes can rise and fall like a tide and with them changes that greatly impact the citizens of the various nations and states. New diseases can come and go and ravage the populace in ways that won’t be understood for another 28 years, or more. A planet can march ever closer to its destruction with no one proving to be a good steward of the Earth. But what becomes of these people? What world do they seek to embrace and even build? “28 Years Later” is a brilliantly executed film that masterfully blends all elements of filmmaking – the technical, the artistry, everything – to produce a singular look at a civilization at a crossroads. Or maybe it’s far too late and we’ve passed that checkpoint a long time ago.
The Rage virus that was let loose 28 years back and burned through the United Kingdom, left behind an isolated husk of civilization amidst roaming gangs of infected monsters. Spike (Alfie Williams) is 12-years old, living in an isolated island community with his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and mother, Isla (Jodie Comer). Isla is suffering from some disease that makes her easily forgetful and in lots of pain, but without any doctors in the area, no one can say what ails her. Meanwhile, Spike is following in Jamie’s footsteps as a forager/hunter who goes to the mainland, killing infected while looking for various materials. However, after his first foray out, Spike soon questions everything that he’s previously been told…including the possibility that a mysterious man (Ralph Fiennes) holds the key to a greater understanding of the world.
“28 Years Later” is not an onslaught of zombie (sorry, “infected”) mayhem that many may be expecting. It’s more akin to a coming-of-age story set during the apocalypse. When every system has failed, what will the youth decide to do with their lives? Will they continue in the footsteps of what has come before, or will they forge their own path? Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (reteaming after the 2002 movie) brilliantly paint a moving picture that’s filled with a lot more heart and brains than just what is splattered across the screen. Watching Spike and his family navigate the emotional minefield is far more gripping than the tension of the infected rabidly pursuing our protagonists (though that is still very engaging in its own right). Rebellion doesn’t always look like violence but instead can be a gentler deviation from what’s expected simply through questioning things that others have taken for granted. Tradition is always the worst excuse to do anything, and Spike’s realization of the inherent flaws in the world his predecessors have created is genuinely affecting as it reaches across the apocalypse setting and into our own lives.
Every aspect and department of “28 Years Later” is incredibly impressive. DP Anthony Dod Mantle ingeniously uses iPhone cameras (and astoundingly inventive rigs) that creates an immediacy with the imagery and gorgeously captures the haunted and abandoned countryside. Editor Jon Harris expertly weaves in these moments along with a lot more flights of fancy to contextualize what we are seeing—it may not resonate as much with non-British audiences, but we do know that we are witnessing an interrogation of the past, present, and (possible) future of UK. And the score from Young Fathers, a post-rock doom dirge while incorporating a Rudyard Kipling poem and bits from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, further cements the atmosphere of a fallen empire cursed by its isolation, actions (or inactions), and history.
While “28 Years Later” is very much engaging with the United Kingdom, it isn’t merely a message movie. Like all great horror movies, including this year’s “Sinners,” there is a lot of commentary and broader thematic elements at work, but it never crowds out the heart or the narrative. Boyle and company have crafted a thoroughly rousing and worthy follow-up to their world by looking unflinchingly at our own yet still find elements of hope and love even in the direst of circumstances. There is grace to be had even in a wasteland, and perhaps that will grow and change its own reality…or perhaps things are about to get a whole lot weirder and worse in ways that we cannot fathom. “28 Years Later” cements this series as necessary viewing and will leave audiences ravenous for further explorations.
[For those that do see “28 Years Later” – and you all should – and are baffled by the last five minutes: 1) know that there’s a Nia DaCosta-directed sequel expected in January 2026 that might expand on those elements (though I think it exists as its own form of absurdist epilogue) and 2) look up Jimmy Savile]
4.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Chi Lewis-Parry
Director: Danny Boyle
