28 Days Later (2003) by the creative duo of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland managed to make the concept of a zombie apocalypse, which was starting to feel dated at the time, scary again and able to reach the hearts of viewers. Since then, many different zombie stories have been released, including The Last of Us, which became a milestone for zombie fiction and stories about post-apocalyptic society in general. However, in 2025, Boyle and Garland returned with 28 Years Later, in which everything is so wonderful and magical - despite the overall depressing setting - that other works of zombie fiction cannot be compared.
| Name | 28 Years Later |
| Genre | thriller, horror |
| Director | Danny Boyle |
| Cast | Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams and others |
| Studios | DNA Films, Columbia Pictures |
| Timing | 1 hour 55 minutes |
| Year | 2025 |
| Link | IMDb |
The boy Spike (Alfie Williams) lives on a small island with his family and a commune of surviving British people who were lucky not to be infected with the "Rage" virus. However, from time to time the islanders have to get out to the mainland in search of resources. Great Britain itself was isolated from the world to prevent the spread of the virus, and people were left to their own devices. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Spike's father, takes his son on a trip for the first time, although he is only 12 years old. It is this trip that opens Spike's eyes to all the beauty and disgust of the world that has survived the zombie apocalypse, and also gives rise to doubts in his soul about survival on the island. The boy is especially worried about his sick mother Isla (Jodie Comer), who is slowly losing herself from attacks of madness, but no one is in a hurry to help her.
The greatest achievement of 28 Years Later is that Boyle and Garland don't even try to reinvent the genre or surprise the viewer with mind-blowing plot twists in the post-apocalyptic setting. Instead, they go back to basics and tell a surprisingly intimate and heartfelt story about family, growing up, and the search for eternal values in a world where civilization has become nothing more than a faded memory. It is at once a meditation on masculinity and fatherhood, a poignant tale of the horror of growing up as a child learns about the darkest sides of life, and a parable about the importance and ephemerality of memory.
The film finds emotional resonance not in the battles with the infected, although they are made as beautifully as possible, but in quiet, contemplative moments: in the conversation between father and son, in the silent gaze of the sick mother, in desperate attempts to find at least some glimmers of hope among the ruins. In such poignant moments lies the true strength of the film, which allows it to focus on the humanism within the horror, and not on the horror itself. The young actor Alfie Williams coped perfectly with the extremely difficult role, so nothing interferes with immersion.
Every frame of 28 Years Later is imbued with Danny Boyle's directorial genius. His signature energetic, rebellious British spirit is felt in everything, from unexpected angles to the choice of music. He finds unique stylistic and artistic solutions for each scene, even for seemingly short and passing episodes. And from each zombie kill while watching in the cinema you feel almost physical pleasure, so correctly placed accents.
The heroes' journey through devastated Britain turns into an elegy for a lost civilization. Boyle skillfully weaves archival footage and fragments of old films into the overall plot, creating an effect of melancholy and nostalgia for a world that no longer exists. At the same time, he does not shy away from showing frank cruelty, but he does it not for the sake of shock, but as an integral part of the new reality. His direction, as before, feels relevant, provocative and even urgent, refusing simple answers and easy paths and, at the level of cinematography, talking to the audience about questions that they are very afraid of answering.
Behind this central human story lies a deep layer of philosophical, historical and socio-political reflections. Britain's isolation from the rest of the world, the decline of institutions, the crisis of humanism, the cruel decisions of the "outside world" regarding quarantine and isolation - all this can be interpreted as a metaphor for modern political realities, in particular the consequences of Brexit and the strange geopolitical decisions of recent years, but the film never presents these ideas straightforwardly. They exist in the background, as part of the world, complementing and deepening the story, but without pulling the blanket over itself.
The infected in 28 Years Later are not just mindless monsters. Boyle portrays them as a natural disaster, an unstoppable and all-encompassing force of nature, like a hurricane or a flood. They are a catalyst that exposes the best and worst in people, forcing them to make impossible choices between humanity and survival. But there is still enough brutality in the battles with them.
Boyle and Garland demonstrate a complete understanding of the genre and its tropes. They know that the audience has seen hundreds of zombie stories, so they deliberately use familiar clichés - a raid for supplies, an encounter with other survivors, danger not from the dead but from the living. However, they infuse these well-worn elements with fresh emotional content, and at times even subtly ironize them.
"28 Years Later" finds its originality not in what it shows, but in how it does it. Even in its darkest and most depressing moments, the film manages to resort to appropriate, heartfelt humor that only emphasizes the tragedy of the situation, but at the same time provides much-needed emotional relief.
The soundtrack deserves a special mention. The film's soundtrack is an absolutely brilliant, at the same time unusual and extremely appropriate combination of ambient, post-song and British electronics. The music does not simply illustrate the events on the screen, but becomes a kind of narrator, conveying the mood, increasing the tension and creating a unique atmosphere of longing and hope. Like the overall direction, the soundtrack has a distinctly "British" character - it is melancholic, a little detached, but inside it beats an energetic and powerful pulse.
However, even such a near-perfect film has a few minor flaws. The narrative structure, especially at the beginning, can seem a bit "video game-like." That is, instead of the standard flow of the story, we sometimes seem to watch a set of "cutscenes," "tutorials," and "combat skirmishes." The scene where the father explains all the features of the new world to his son, although necessary for new viewers, feels like a slightly straightforward exposition that cautiously but still leads the audience by the hand.
In addition, 28 Years Later ends quite abruptly, leaving the viewer with a feeling of incompleteness and a powerful cliffhanger. However, this shortcoming is largely offset by the knowledge that the next part was filmed in parallel with this one and is due to be released in the winter of 2026. So this is not so much a weakness of the script as a deliberate move that turns the viewing into the first chapter of a large, epic saga.
28 Years Later is not just a triumphant return of a cult franchise. It is a true masterpiece of modern cinema, going far beyond the boundaries of the horror genre. Boyle and Garland have created a touching and intellectually rich drama about what it means to be human in a world gone mad.
The British creative duo has crafted a bold, uncompromising and visually stunning film that makes you think, feel and hope. Its minor flaws are lost in the backdrop of its monumental achievements, making it one of the best films not just of the year, but potentially of the decade.
