Welcome Back To the Zombie Genre with 28 Years Later

28 Years Later finally arrived after two decades later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to direct and write this third installement and if you haven‘t seen the first two movies, 28 Years Later is a self contained story that is set after the second movie, but it‘s not a necessary watch…

It‘s set 28 years later after the outbreak of the Rage Virus, the world is trying to rebuild and some survivors found a space outside of the mainland that is virus free and follows Spike, a 14 year old boy, who after an accident going through the mainland with his father because he was training with him, he discovers a bonfire and after returning home, he decides to take his mom to a supposed doctor that has the same bonfire, because he wants to cure her.

The zombie genre was gone for a few years, only alive in television but this franchise is known for the style, the gimmick, the 2000s vibes and that this zombies are more different than any represented on screen. The film doesn‘t rely on nostalgia or legacy sequel, instead it focuses on how the story was progressed after years later and where the world is right now.

One of the most important aspects of this movie is that 28 Years Later expands the universe, introduces new lore and new locations and the stakes are even higher than ever. The virus and the zombies are still scary, but the real horror comes of what humanity has done since then. The performances are excellent. Jodie Comer provides one of the best performances ever put to screen, it‘s emotional the journey his character goes through and Alfie Williams is a revelation, while Ralph Fiennes provides emotional depth to a complicated character and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is good as the father trying to survive this world.

The direction style of the first two movies is there, Danny Boyle never misses the mark, from the dutch angles, to the cam recorder of the 2000s, everything is in there. The film is stunning in cinematography and mantains the same quality of the first two movies with a digital improvement, remember that the film was shot partly with Iphone 15 Pro Max.

This movie in tone feels like a thriller with horror elements, because we follow this characters to survive through his journey, there‘s a lot of great jump scares, full of dread and tension that makes you jump out of your seat. Young Fathers is the composer this time and provides a chilling music.

While the movie starts strong, the script fails in the second act where things gets slow. It feels like a break from everything that happened, but that‘s not a bad thing, but some viewers will find that a little distracting from the main plot. Without spoilers, the ending will cause controversy, it feels so different in tone, but at the same time is a great cliffhanger for the next movie that comes out in January 2026.

28 Years Later isn‘t a movie about running away from zombies, it‘s about the people who can‘t get out of the UK live in fear, guilt and trauma. The virus may be scary, but the people are forgetting the essential things of how a human behave, but this a risky, bold and emotional third entry to this franchise that will leave in awe after the credits roll.