28 Years Later is a horror film produced and directed by Daniel Francis Boyle, who also directed the movies Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and the first of the 28 film series, 28 Days Later. The movie can also be seen as a drama, utilizing zombies to help tell a tale about life, death, and love.
The Plot of 28 Days Later
The first of the franchise starts with scientists experimenting on chimpanzees at a facility, where an animal activist group breaks in to liberate the furry critters. However, the scientists warn members of the group not to do that, because the chimps suffer from an infection of a deadly virus, which they refer to as simply, Rage. Believing the scientists to be full of hocus pocus to divert them from doing their duty to humanity, one of the activists attempts to free a chimp, which attacks her.
Now infected, the activist gradually became sick and succumbed to the Rage Virus, and attacked everyone in the facility, infecting them all with Rage. Then, 28 days later, the story opens up with a man waking up from a coma in a hospital in the UK, where he then realizes that life is no longer what it once was.
28 Years Later
The third installment in the franchise brings the return of Danny Boyle as director, since the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The movie was shot partially with the use of twenty iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, to capture a different look to the film.
The story opens up sometime during the eve of the spread of the Rage Virus. In the UK, a bunch of kids are gathered in a room to watch the Teletubbies on television, where the adults tell them that no matter what, to not make a sound. A boy named Jimmy, in the midst of sudden silence from the outside, approaches the door to see if everyone on the other side is alright. As words began to leave his mouth, the door burst open thanks to infected humans of the Rage Virus, who are now attacking anyone within sight.
Beginning of Disaster
Jimmy runs outside and heads to the nearby church, where his father, a priest, is praying to God to embrace what he sees as liberation. He gives Jimmy his cross, and as the infected storm in, Jimmy goes into hiding in a floor crevice of the church while his father is being mauled to death and eaten alive.
The World 28 Years Later
28 Years Later, we are taken to a small community in the UK on an island, where everyone has reverted to a more Agrarian way of life. The boy in this story is named Spike, and he is preparing with his father to go foraging for the first time, leaving behind his sick mother in the commune. On this island, a walkway emerges during low tide, and they have only a certain number of hours to forage and train Spike on how to handle life in the mainland, before it’s time to head back home.
A Cinematic Masterpiece
In this brave new world, the infected humans have mutated into a series of different, organized zombies that borderline tribal clans along the lines of cavemen, but in a more animalistic and primal way. Due to an encounter with one of the tribal zombies led by an Alpha, they flee into an abandoned house, and must find a way to make it back home once low tide begins. However, from this point on, their story has only just begun.
The movie is not your typical zombie flick within the horror genre. It is a cleverly crafted story, filled with purpose and a journey through the eyes of Spike, who learns about life, death, and manhood. A journey which starts with a leap of faith.
