I was actually visiting some friends in London when 28 DAYS LATER first came out in 2002, and I vividly remember how is was a HUGE hit in the UK, and became a horror classic on this side of the pond as well, spawning a sequel 28 WEEKS LATER and a comic book, but then (oddly) going somewhat dormant on the home video and streaming side. In fact, it’s been nearly impossible to find the first two films on any streaming service until just recently, which has likely been remedied to prepare for the release of 28 YEARS LATER, which reunites director Danny Boyle with writer Alex Garland. While this new film is set in the same universe as the first movie, it seems to ignore some of the events the second film established, and implies that the UK is the only part of Europe infected and has been sealed off as a result.

The movie opens with a flashback to the original outbreak, showing families and their children holding up inside a home hoping to stay safe, but those infected with the rage virus find them, and kill almost everyone quickly. It’s a compartmentalized way to show the audience how things started, before skipping ahead 28 years later to where things are now. We meet a young man named Spike (Alfie Williams) and his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who are living in a small village cut off from the outside world of the infected. It’s a sort of antiquated lifestyle, a simple life with few distractions. Spike’s mother Isla (Jodie Comer) is sick, though they don’t know exactly what is wrong with her, and there are no doctors around to treat her. Jamie has been training Spike on how to kill those infected with the Rage Virus, and takes him outside of the village for a trial run, crossing a path that they only traverse during low tide. Once inside the other land, they encounter bloated (and crawling slowly) infected in the forests, fast-running infected on land, and even “Alpha” infected who appear to be larger and stronger with a strange form of control over the others. Their test run goes okay but ends shaky, and it’s clear Spike is not fully ready to go out on his own. He learns there is a doctor living within the infected area, and despite being told the man is crazy, out of desperation he decides to sneak out and take his mother to find him in hopes he can help cure her. They eventually find Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), but he is not what Spike expected, and their meeting will change Spike forever.

One of the things that makes 28 YEARS LATER so good is that while it exists in the world introduced by 28 DAYS LATER, it isn’t just more of the same, rather delivers some unexpected and thought-provoking scenarios that give the characters true moments to shine, thanks to Alex Garland’s compelling script. This is a movie about living in a world forever changed by events of the past, and how these people coexist and learn to adapt knowing the threat is still out there, and is now evolving. But it’s also a movie about how we deal with those we love getting sick, how important it is to save them, and how those struggles can destroy relationships. Jamie is challenged as a father to teach his son how to fight, but he’s also struggling with his wife no longer being herself. Spike is worried about his mother’s illness, but doesn’t seem prepared to protect himself when facing threats. This is a movie in which the infected are still very much out there, but it’s not really about that so much as it is about the people who must exist in their world. There’s also a subplot involving an infected woman having a baby that doesn’t appear to be affected, and whether or not that baby should be saved, expanding on the importance of life in the face of death.

This is a beautiful and haunting production, shot in a raw way that somehow still looks breathtaking. Danny Boyle really knows how to make the most of his visuals, and still knows how to deliver unsettling moments that stick with you. There are times where you’ll be compelled to look away out of horror, but the action is so riveting that it’s hard to do so. The actors are all giving excellent performances here, particularly Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes, both delivering rich and layered characters with some unexpected twists. Alfie as Spike has the biggest burden as he’s on screen more than almost anyone, and very much carries the film. There’s also a wild and unusual ending the sets up events for the next movie in a very interesting way. For those unaware, this is the first of two films shot at the same time, and even though the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, this works quite well as the first of two chapters, and gives you plenty of bang for your buck. If you’re going into 28 YEARS LATER hoping for something similar to its predecessors, you might be a bit surprised at some of the directions it goes in. But it’s a solid and welcome entry in the franchise, and shows us that (like the infected in its story) horror can still evolve and do new and fascinating things.

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