28 Years Later Review

With its first two films, the 28 Days Later franchise solidified itself as one of my personal favourites of the zombie genre, and one of the most influential films for zombie horror of all time. Though it was far from the originator of the zombie genre, 28 Days Later re-popularised the undead in the world of film back in the early 2000’s, as well as pioneering the mainstream appeal of sprinting zombies, a far cry from the slowly shuffling infected that the world had become used to. Now, after a huge 18-year wait since the franchise’s last entry, 28 Weeks Later, the Rage Virus has returned in one of 2025’s most anticipated films.

To preface this review, I’ll admit to some bias – I was always going to at least somewhat enjoy 28 Years Later. Both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later are incredible films to me, particularly the former, and with Danny Boyle returning to direct, it felt like 28 Years Later was a shoe-in to be one of my favourite films of the year. As a horror fan, there are certain sensibilities to horror that I will always enjoy, and that 28 Years Later was bound to include. However, the movie certainly fell short of the expectations I had for it, and I concluded my viewing feeling a little empty, a little confused, and certainly, a little underwhelmed. But enough introducing – it’s time to get into the nitty and gritty. Let’s dive in to our 28 Years Later review.

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28 Years Later Review

Image by Sony

As a franchise, the 28 Days Later series is intelligent in how it approaches the storytelling of a zombie-infected world. The use of time in the series’ titles is nothing short of genius in how it allows its filmmakers to examine the same virus, the same outbreak, and the same locations, yet make the movies all feel different to each other in how the human world is reacting to the virus at these different stages. 28 Days Later felt like Britain was truly dealing with a completely unprecedented threat, while the more military-focused 28 Weeks Later felt like a realistic representation of how an ad-hoc quarantine would come about on such short notice. As disappointing as it is to see this film disregard 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later is clearly trying to persuade its viewers to leave any ideas we have about the Rage Virus behind us, with such a huge jump forward in time, and subsequently, such a huge change in tone.

With that in mind, regardless of how much Britain has changed, the representation of the infected in 28 Years Later remains consistent with the first two films. These zombies are some of the most terrifying in film history. They’re grimy, vicious, and incredibly fast-moving. As a result, the entire time that our characters are on mainland Britain, the film is extremely tense, this tension often only broken by very dramatic chase scenes. 28 Years Later also introduces a new variant of infected, known as an Alpha. The introduction of Alphas was a decision I can get behind, as the only thing scarier than an infected is, of course, an infected on steroids. What I could not get behind with the infected in 28 Years Later was the lack of clothing on the infected. Ok, I get it, it’s been 28 years, I’m sure their clothes have been worn down over time, but when it comes to the viewing experience, it’s incredibly distracting to constantly have zombie genitalia flapping directly in the camera. Without going into too much detail, this factor was particularly obtrusive when it came to the Alphas. I’m leaving that discussion there, but in short, I was not a fan of the constant zombie junk.

Like both of the films that came before it, 28 Years Later boasts an incredibly unique approach to cinematography and camera work. Famously, a large portion of 28 Days Later was shot on Canon handheld DV cameras, a cinematic choice that gave the film a grainy, grungy feel. It almost felt like we were watching the action unfold through security cameras, and though 28 Weeks Later was shot traditionally, it employed some of the same camera techniques to keep this vibe going through both entries of the franchise. 28 Years Later, in an attempt to keep the franchise’s unique cinematic choices alive, was primarily shot using the iPhone 15 Max, and it shows, but not in a good way. The film, at times, looks like an Instagram reel, and the camera work, while unique, can often undercut the tension of the plot’s more intense moments. When infected are killed, the film often opts to enter ‘bullet time’, which makes the whole thing feel very artificial, and far too glossy for a film with this tone. One scene involving Erik, the Swedish NATO soldier, is filmed like a comedic moment from The Office, and I honestly can’t tell if it was intentional or not. While I commend 28 Years Later for taking cinematographic risks like its predecessors, this style did not land for me.

Image by Sony

When it comes to the film’s characters, however, I have a lot of good to say about 28 Years Later. Alfie Williams is the star of the show, and at only 14-years old, manages to hold the entire film together with his performance. A good chunk of this film involves Williams’ character, Spike, embarking on his first trip to the infected mainland of Britain, and Williams conveys the role of an unexperienced child to perfection. While his mistakes would often be frustrating in any other movie, particularly in the zombie genre, Spike comes across as a likeable kid, making mistakes, but trying his best not to.

In perfect harmony with Williams is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays his father, Jamie. The dynamic of the two was perfect for this kind of movie. Jamie is tough when he needs to be, but is ultimately caring, warm, and reassuring to Spike when the moment calls for it. Jamie is easily one of the movie’s best characters until he’s unceremoniously written-out of the story in exchange for Isla, Spike’s mother, played by Jodie Comer. Comer plays her role very well, but her dynamic with Spike is not nearly as interesting as Jamie’s, and it was a shame to see Jamie essentially leave the film in exchange. Ralph Fiennes is excellent as per usual, and all of the talented actors who portrayed infected here also ought to be shouted out. There’s practically nothing bad to say about the cast, or the characters here, except for the fact that the plot doesn’t do some of them justice.

So, let’s talk about the plot. 28 Years Later, in some ways, feels like two movies in one. The film begins with Spike journeying to the mainland with Jamie, only to return halfway through, and then embark back out again with Isla in search of a doctor. I do think that this dual approach was a little too ambitious for this movie, and in particular, I found myself disillusioned by how ill-prepared our protagonists were in both instances. The second time around, it was more justifiable – Spike went out with Isla in a sort of desperate move, so they were bound to be on the back-foot a little. However, in the first instance with Jamie, it baffled me that the pair were so unprepared. It felt like their first encounter on the mainland practically pinned them down and set them up for death, and it was baffling to me that Jamie ran out of arrows as fast as he did. This movie is set 28 years after the initial outbreak, and yet, the preparedness of Jamie and Spike felt like the two were thrust into the world of the infected at the last minute.

Image by Sony

The dangers of the mainland did, however, make their home island of Lindisfarne feel heavenly, despite the place being pretty run-down in the brief looks we get into it. In particular, the scene where Spike and Jamie are sprinting back to Lindisfarne with an Alpha charging after them under the stars felt like watching two survivors desperately trying to escape hell and reach sanctuary. In terms of the artificial feeling of 28 Years Later, this scene did not help, but it was a uniquely beautiful moment, one we’ve never seen the likes of in this franchise, so I’m marking it down as more of a pro than a con.

What we have seen plenty of in the franchise before now is gore, and 28 Years Later doesn’t hold back at all in this regard. The film is incredibly graphic and deeply visceral, with the violence reaching a level beyond anything we saw in the earlier films. The first two films had a fascination with shoving fingers into eyeballs. Here, we see a deep fascination with ripping off heads Sub-Zero style, spine and all. I will say, the constant splashing of blood and viscera does undercut how dangerous bodily fluids were in the first two films. Remember that scene in 28 Days Later where one drop of blood in Brendan Gleeson’s eye was the worst case scenario? Here, we’ve got enough splashing blood to infect a thousand Brendan Gleesons. There’s one scene in particular where Isla assists an infected in giving birth (which is as strange as it sounds), and the amount of infected blood she gets on her hands and proceeds to bring close to her mouth is shocking. Brendan Gleeson would be ashamed of the carelessness on display here. I’ve mentioned Brendan Gleeson more than enough times now, so let’s move on.

28 Years Later is also incredibly uneven in its tone. The franchise has always dealt with some human drama, but ultimately, the overarching tone has always been incredibly dark and grungy. The NATO soldier who arrives in the second half of the movie turns this film into a full-on comedy for a solid 20 minutes, to the point that even his death at the hands of an Alpha is comical. Shortly after his death, we are introduced to Dr. Ian Kelson, who approaches the situation with the Alpha with a distinct sense of humour, before bringing Spike and Isla to his incredibly morbid bone temple. There’s a real tonal whiplash going on in the film’s second half, a whiplash only accentuated by the film’s ending, but more on that trainwreck later.

Image by Sony

The film is also incredibly sad at times, and I do have to give credit where credit is due – there’s some very mature commentary going on here about the nature of death, particularly its inevitably. Whilst Kelson’s bone monument is macabre, there is a touching side to his tribute to the dead, particularly after Isla herself gets added to it. In contrast to expectations, not all of the death and misery in 28 Years Later comes down to the infected. In fact, it is cancer that eventually leads to Isla’s death, speaking to the fact that even in a world overrun by vicious monsters, death waits for no one. Isla’s whole story added a sense of humanity to a series that is often entirely focused on surviving against zombies, with those zombies being the only cause of death in the universe.

I think that ultimately, 28 Years Later has quite a lot to say, and there are some things it does very well, but overall, this is just not a time period that allows this franchise to thrive. The earlier time periods reflected in the first two films allowed this franchise to play with the idea of the Rage Virus in human civilisation. By the time 28 Years Later goes down, the mainland has largely been reduced to grassy plains and ruins, making it feel more in line with something like The Last of Us, but lacking the same emotional pull that carried that franchise through. All-in-all, I think we would have been better off exploring the world ’28 Months Later’, before going all-out and jumping ahead by nearly three decades. After all, Danny Boyle has been apart from this franchise for over 20 years – a more familiar environment would have allowed him to ease in, before making this huge chronological leap. The opening sequence of the movie, which jumped back to the original outbreak, was one of my favourite parts of it, and clearly Boyle and this franchise’s strengths lie in that setting.

Now, however, we come to the ending of 28 Years Later, which was quite frankly, ridiculous. The opening sequence follows a young man named Jimmy, as he is shown escaping the outbreak. At the end of the movie, as Spike flees from a group of infected, Jimmy returns, now 28 years older, and having taken on his own distinctive…style. He also has a gang, all of whom dress just like him. So, what is that style? Well, it’s a colourful tracksuit, flashy jewellery, and long blonde hair. If Jimmy Savile is coming to mind here, then fear not! You are absolutely correct. The film ends with Spike being saved by a group of Jimmy Savile cosplayers, led by Jimmy himself, who take down the infected like superheroes, with gymnastics moves and stunts galore. Absolutely ridiculous. I can’t tell if this was meant to be charming in how bizarre it was, but any sort of charm here was lost on me. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I think an ending focused on a Power Rangers x Jimmy Savile cult is just a step too far for me. I am interested to see where this goes out of morbid curiosity alone, but boy, was this a misfire for me, and ultimately left the movie on a very sour note.

Image by Sony

The issue with 28 Years Later is that it’s just not as compelling as the previous two films in any way. It does a lot of things right. The survival elements are thrilling, and the infected are as frightening as ever, if not more so. For many horror fans, this will be enough to satisfy them when it comes to a new zombie film. For me though, with how hyped up this film was, I really wanted more from this movie. Believe me, this is not how I wanted my 28 Years Later review to go down. I know that Danny Boyle enjoys making eccentric decisions sometimes, but to me, this movie was not the place for that. Trainspotting, one of Boyle’s earlier films, is also very eccentric at times, but it works in that movie because of the film’s plot and overall vibe. The strangeness of 28 Years Later is such a leap from the previous entries of the franchise that it’s jarring. As much as Boyle may want us to forget about 28 Weeks Later, I think that it’s ultimately far more respectful to the first film than this is.

So now, we look to the future. 28 Years Later is gearing up to be a trilogy, with a sequel called 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple set to release in January 2026. When it comes to this movie, I have no idea what to expect. We know that Alfie Williams is set to star again, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, and Cillian Murphy himself joining him, so I’d imagine it’s going to follow the Jimmy Savile cult in some way. O’Connell, who plays Jimmy, has said that it is one of the ‘darker’ characters he’s played, and considering O’Connell has played murderous villains in both Eden Lake and Sinners, I’m very nervous for where this Jimmy character is going. Nia DaCosta, who’s set to direct The Bone Temple, also doesn’t have the best track record, with Candyman and The Marvels to her name, so I can’t say I’m excited to see where the trilogy goes. Curious, yes. Excited, no.

So, that was my 28 Years Later review, a far cry from the glowing score I had hoped to bestow on the newest entry to this franchise. What did you think of the movie? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

See also: The Best Black Mirror Episodes

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