It's been 23 years since director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland created 28 Days Later and 18 years since Juan Carlos Fresnadillo continued the franchise with 28 Weeks Later. Now Boyle and Garland take back control, bringing us 28 Years Later, the best and most thematically rich of the trio, not to mention the most packed with zombie genitalia. Seriously, the fact that one particularly muscular infected person is visibly well-endowed adds a chilling touch. The film tenses your body muscles for much of its running time, but takes some surprising steps that are truly special.
The "rage virus" that turns people into aggressive zombie-like creatures has been contained in Great Britain. A group of survivors live on a small island connected to the mainland by a tidal causeway. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his 12-year-old son, Spike (Alfie Williams), across the road to teach him how to kill the infected with a bow and arrow. After several murders, Spike decides to embark on an unauthorized journey with his ailing mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), to find Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a former family doctor who, Jamie claims, has gone insane. Perhaps he can treat her, or perhaps he's a psychopath. They won't know until they arrive. Encounters with the infected are frequent.
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Alex Garland
Stars: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
This sequel introduces several new elements. In addition to the rapid-fire editing and high-frame-rate camerawork used in attack sequences, Boyle now employs a sped-up version of The Matrix's "bullet-time" effect when an infected person is speared. This contributes to making the gory violence even more visceral. Another new feature is the presence of the "Alphas," exceptionally large and lethal infected mutants. One of them, the guy with the intimidatingly huge penis, looks like Jason Momoa, already muscular, but on steroids. Every time he appears on screen, the story's anxious tension increases.
On that basic level of blood and guts, 28 Years Later more than delivers. This is a grim, gory, and grim horror film that offers a multitude of sickening images. The concept of a rage virus has never felt as threatening as it does here. But Garland's script goes further, carefully developing the characters and including moments designed to emphasize the human loss caused by the virus. In the most unforgettable scene, Spike and Isla have an encounter in an abandoned train car that starts chilling, turns heartbreaking, and then becomes even more cruel than at the beginning.
The final act also packs an emotional punch. What Fiennes does with his character is truly compelling, as is Dr. Kelson's role in the plot. Until the climactic action scene, this is the quiet part of the film, though it's nonetheless captivating. Given the frenetic pace of the series, an elegiac section feels unexpected, yet just as unsettling as the horror scenes.
Taylor-Johnson, Comer, Fiennes, and Williams are engaging in all their performances, and the excellent sound design and score contribute to the tense atmosphere Boyle creates. A chilling recording of Rudyard Kipling's poem "Boots" plays early on to set the tone. 28 Years Later is a super-intense film that puts your nerves on edge, both due to the substance of the story and its gore.
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