28 Years Later

Not content with making just the one ‘unmakeable’ legacy sequel in T2: Trainspotting, Danny Boyle goes again in adding to the seminal 28 Days series.

Incredibly, he’s two for two. 28 Years Later, like T2, doesn’t quite touch the heights of the original but is a more than worthy sequel and a hugely exciting start to a new trilogy.

It strikes the perfect balance of ‘feeling’ like the original in terms of tone and cinematography but moving things on suitably enough to offer an entirely new story and sandbox to play in.

28 years on from the initial outbreak, the UK is quarantined and the rest of the world carries on as normal (the shock ending of 28 Weeks retconned early in an opening text crawl.)

A band of survivors live on the island of Lindisfarne, venturing onto the mainland for supplies only when a path opens with the tide.

Cue lots of hidden subtext, if you want to read into it, about what makes a nation, English history, Brexit and what it is to survive. Or, if you don’t, just a cracking zombie film.

The first half of the film glues you to your seat with terror, all jump scares and tension underpinned by the absolutely incredible score by Young Fathers.

As our young protagonist Spike [slight spoiler] gets back to the island and makes decisions on his future the film becomes far more meditative, considered, brave and curiously beautiful.

There are some wild decisions, some potentially controversial moments, some purely bizarre choices and some elegiac, dreamlike surreal sequences that are at total odds with what you’d expect this film to be.

All that whilst still delivering the requisite ‘zombie pulls man’s head and spine clean from his neck’ moments.

The discourse will go on and on, the opinions will vary and the sequels will be hugely interesting.

Is it a comment on our fading nation, is it a scathing look at the lies that build history, is it meant to be confounding and polarising?

For now, just sit back and enjoy an original, exciting, pulse pounding piece of British cinema that injects yet another shot into this constantly enthralling and growing genre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️