28 Years Later
Starring Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Jodie Comer
MA15+
4.5/5
The third film in the 28 apocalyptic horror franchise, 28 Years Later is an enthralling, humane character drama in the flesh of a gruesome zombie thriller.
Nearly thirty years after a zombifying Rage Virus devastated the UK, a boy named Spike (Alfie Williams) ventures with his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) from their heavily-defended village to the dangerous outside world for the first time.
Williams shows resilience and determination beyond his years as Spike, and Taylor-Johnson is both warm and guarded as Jamie.
28 Years Later is full of graphic, nerve-shredding action scenes, but director Danny Boyle (who directed 28 Days Later from 2002) understands the need for quiet, richly-atmospheric slowness between the carnage.
The surprisingly subtle plot explores themes of trust, manhood, courage and honouring the dead, as Spike braves the wilderness and kills zombies to help his sick mother Isla (Jodie Comer), not for a macho rite of passage.
Where Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning’s franchise callbacks could get rather blatant, 28 Years Later’s callbacks are nicely understated. 28 Days Later popularised the now-ubiquitous trope of “fast zombies”, and 28 Years Later shows these zombies filling new niches and evolving beyond purely mindless monsters.
They are sometimes presented like animals and at other times almost like cavemen, with the film coaxing fascination, humour and even pathos from these still-scary creatures.
28 Years Later’s stunning cinematography was shot almost entirely on an iPhone, which is both a big technical step-up and a full-circle return to the filmmaking of 28 Days Later, which was
shot on a cheap digital camera.
Playing in most Victorian cinemas, 28 Years Later is one of the best films of the year so far, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to the follow-up film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, in
January 2026.
