Susan Granger’s review of “28 Years Later” (Columbia Pictures/Sony)
Yes…”28 Years Later” is another zombie horror picture, continuing screenwriter Alex Garland & director Danny Boyle’s allegorical, apocalyptic concept of “28 Days Later” (2002) in which a primate virus morphs into a fatal blood-borne ‘rage’ psychosis.
Filled with dread and foreboding, this graphically violent yet character-driven story revolves around 12 year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) who lives with his macho father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and ailing mother, Ilsa (Jodie Comer).
As part of a strictly-enforced quarantine, their rugged, tight-knit, secluded community is crossbow-fortified and barricaded on Holy Island, separated by a long, tidal causeway that leads to the northeast coast of England.
As part of a tribal coming-of-age ritual, Spike sets out on a grisly, gory walkabout with his father to hunt and kill naked ‘infected’ hominids with bows and arrows. “Once you walk onto the mainland, there’s no rescue,” he’s warned.
Venturing through verdant woodlands, they first encounter easy targets like ‘slow-lows,’ a nickname for the corpulent crawlers who gobble worms, but then they’re threatened by feral, fast-moving, frenzied savages, particularly ‘alphas,’ who are far more dangerous.
“The more you kill, the easier it gets,” Jamie assures sensitive Spike.
Having endured that first foray, Spike is determined to venture further inland, in search of fabled Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in hopes of curing his beloved mother. En route, they’re joined by Erik (Edvin Ryding), a Swedish Navy officer whose patrol ship sank off Scotland …“Scotch-on-the-rocks,” he jokes.
Perhaps the most memorable interlude takes place on an abandoned train, where Isla helps an ‘infected’ pregnant woman deliver a healthy baby girl. an enigmatic harbinger of a follow-up – “The Bone Temple” – set for a January 16, 2026, release.
Kudos to cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who utilized a special rig outfitted with multitude of iPhone 15 Pro Maxes, simultaneously filming multiple angles, freeze-frames and fragmented quick cuts of the same grainy image…and editor Jon Harris who splices in glimpses of archival footage and relevant historical happenings.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “28 Years Later” is a speculative, suspenseful, survivalist 7, playing in theaters.
