Film Review: 28 Years Later

28 Years Later
Directors: Danny Boyle
British Film Institute, Decibel Films, DNA Films, Sony Pictures
In Theaters: 06.20.2025

Guess who’s back? Back again? Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, that’s fucking who! That’s right, 18 years later, our aforementioned dynamic duo brings us 28 Years Later, the third out of six installments (yes, you read that right) in the 28 Days Later universe. Though before we get this review started, dear readers, I don’t want to hear a “what happened to months?” peep outta ya!

28 Years Later takes place exactly when the title tells you: 28 years after our initial encounter with the rage virus outbreak that annihilated Britain during 28 Days Later. This time around we follow a Lindisfarne Island native, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams, His Dark Materials), as he goes on his first-ever rite of passage trip to the mainland with his father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nocturnal Animals), at the behest of Spike’s sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer, Killing Eve, The Fall Guy). Between hunting and running from the ever-evolving infected, Spike and his father take refuge in an abandoned and decaying cottage. From there, Spike spots signs of life burning a massive bonfire and learns that the cause behind the blaze is a doctor whom his dad refers to as “insane.” Upon returning back to the island from his coming-of-age trip, Spike decides he’s going to risk it all to get his mother to the mainland doctor — without telling his father.

I went into 28 Years Later with low expectations, because while 28 Weeks Later is by no means a bad film, there feels like no need for 28 Weeks to exist in the first place. While this endeavor is Boyle and Garland (and don’t forget cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle) firing on all creative cylinders, it feels as inventive and new as watching the first film all over again. Everything works: Boyle’s direction and vision, Garland’s ability to keep the flame of hope in hopeless situations alight all the while tackling timeless themes to speak on present political times, and Mantle’s inventiveness with IPhones capturing some of the film’s pivotal scenes while also utilizing infrared in a terrifyingly haunting way. It makes me nostalgic for the first time I watched 28 Days Later, yet excited for what’s next to come in this unexpected trilogy we’re being gifted.

28 Years Later answers all the burning questions you’ve ever had when watching a zombie apocalypse movie: Can the infected evolve? Can zombies get pregnant? What are the ramifications of toxic masculinity in the apocalypse and how would a kid who’s never been raised with the Internet react to seeing an Instagram face? It also displays quite a few foreshadowing references to multicolored hivemind groups like Teletubbies and Power Rangers, especially with its emotionally charged ending. While this sounds like the scrambled beginnings of a Ryan Murphy spec script, Boyle and Garland weave this all together to deliver a well-rounded, grade-A, kickass zombie blockbuster. I can’t even be mad they’re going to make two more movies.

That being said, in all seriousness, Garland’s writing is at an all-time high while revisiting this sliver of his most iconic work (especially after that lukewarm, AI-generated mess of a Civil War endeavor). Where 28 Weeks Later faltered and failed to meet the high expectations set by the first film, 28 Years Later makes up for it tenfold. Tackling topics like the patriarchy’s effect on father/son relationships and a reflection on our current state of political apathy during current events makes 28 Years feel like a timeless masterpiece.

Don’t be a cringe 28 Days Later purist and hold yourself back from experiencing one hell of a zombie flick. Even if the rest of the trilogy turns out to be a total flailing clusterfuck, you’ll want to experience the imaginative and elevating thrill ride that is 28 Years Later. —Yonni Uribe

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