In 2002, 28 Days Later reinvigorated the world of zombies/infected for the early aughts. Soon to follow would be Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead, and even a sequel, 28 Weeks Later. Not to mention The Walking Dead and countless other zombie movies. Now it’s 18 years later, and we’re living in a world where we know what quarantines, pandemics, and the politicization of health feel like. Does the addition of 28 Years Later to the franchise feel necessary and/or relevant? Yes and no. Fair warning: while this article will not have any major spoilers for the plot of the film, there will be discussion of overarching themes and some moments of the film.
In 28 Years Later, “twenty-eight years since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When one member departs on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.”
It’s never easy coming back to a franchise after 18 years. Will it still be relevant? Will people care about what the series has to say? In the case of 28 Years Later, I believe there is a place for it. Sadly, I think that the filmmaker’s style has evolved in a way that makes this film feel out of place with its predecessors. I’ve seen others discussing how they see Danny Boyle’s style, but all I could see was Garland’s influence. There are moments that felt like they belonged in Men more than 28 Days Later. Is this a bad thing or a bad movie? Not necessarily, it just doesn’t feel like it belongs with the other two films in my opinion. I’m reminded of Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. Both are perfectly serviceable films, but when you attach a franchise name, you set expectations, and it can be disappointing when those aren’t met.
Additionally, a lot of the more interesting aspects aren’t fully fleshed out. In 28 Weeks Later, all of the infected died within 6 months. Obviously, there are further outbreaks, but given the span of time, it would be nice to have seen how this continued and why the immunity mentioned in that film is all but ignored. It feels as though a new series of films was desired with little respect to how to connect it to the originals, outside of it being the same viral event. Why do we now have alphas? When did the infected start gaining the intelligence to form groups? Why are they running around with no clothes, despite probably having them when infected? Why does the alpha have super-human strength when in past entries the infected die like any human? There are just a lot of questions that could have been answered to better build up the new trilogy.
Speaking of the nakedness, the purpose of it seemed superfluous and for shock value. I’m no prude and don’t think nudity is inherently wrong, but give us a reason for it. Making the infected in larger bodies the most grotesque feels fatphobic. There is no reason a thinner person couldn’t have been slinking around in the same way, and someone in a larger body couldn’t be sauntering around.
Another thing that didn’t work for me was how the film was paced. (I will keep this as spoiler-free as possible.) As it stands, I would have preferred the current third act to be the start of the next movie. The current final scene negated all of the emotional buildup that the film worked towards. The tonal shift just didn’t work for me.
Now, with all of that said, there are good things about the film. With the exception of the weird video game style interstitial shots and quick cuts, the film is beautifully shot. The audience can really get a sense of the vastness of the world outside of their bubble. The shots of Kelson’s memento mori are striking and unforgettable.
Speaking of Kelson, Ralph Fiennes shines in this role as he usually does in morally ambiguous characters (see: The Menu). Newcomer Alfie Williams really does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting for this film alongside Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. All excel in their roles, with Williams especially standing out. In past entries of this franchise, we haven’t seen characters carry over, so I’m especially interested to see how this new “trilogy” will handle that.
At the end of the day (or weeks, or years), I think this film has a lot of important things to say about the dangers of isolationism, how we react in the face of a global pandemic, and even the expectation of masculinity in a family dynamic. Sadly, it all gets lost in the film’s use of shock value, edits, and poor pacing. I will see the sequels in the hope that they make this film make more sense, but I’m definitely proceeding with caution.
My Rating: 3/5
Thank you! I will give it a look. Zombie films are my go to horror genre choice.