As a longtime admirer of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s groundbreaking 2002 film 28 Days Later, I approached the news of a third instalment of the trilogy – 28 Years Later – with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Could it possibly live up to its predecessors? After experiencing this cinematic journey, I can confidently say the answer is yes – earning a well-deserved seven stars in my book.
This third instalment in the 28 Days trilogy follows 28 Weeks Later (2007), which I rewatched in anticipation of the new film. Set in a post-apocalyptic UK still under international quarantine, the film explores the aftermath of the Rage Virus outbreak nearly three decades later.
The virus, first introduced in 28 Days Later, is a man-made pathogen released by animal rights activists who unknowingly free infected chimpanzees. It causes uncontrollable, murderous aggression within seconds of infection – essentially turning people into fast, frenzied killing machines. Unlike zombies, the infected aren’t dead; they’re consumed by pure rage, making them terrifyingly human and unpredictable.
28 years later, the rest of the world has abandoned the UK and moved on without it. In 28 Years Later a survivor community exists on a heavily fortified and guarded island off the Scottish coast, linked to the mainland by a causeway that makes it inaccessible except for at low tides. They farm, forage, hunt and fish with no electricity, running water, internet or modern medicine. And are always keeping a watchful eye out for the infected should they try to breach their safety.
The storyline of the third movie centres on a young boy, Spike, who is determined to cross the dangerous landscape to take his ill mother to see a doctor (played by Ralph Fiennes) from the olden days he has heard about in an effort to save her life in a typical “coming-of-age” style plot.
There’s a lot of horror action of course, including some gory scenes where mutated “alpha” versions of the infected are able to rip peoples ‘heads and spinal cords clean out of their bodies. But 28 Years Later refuses to rely solely on horror tropes. Instead, it delves into love, memory, and legacy, particularly through a haunting performance by Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson. His monologue about “Memento Amoris” – remembering love in the face of death.
Danny Boyle returns to the director’s chair with his signature blend of grit and elegance. The visuals are breathtakingly stark, with many scenes shot on iPhone to create a more immediate, documentary-like realism.
In some ways, in a post-Brexit, post-pandemic world, 28 Years Later feels less like a horror film and more like a mirror. It reflects a nation grappling with isolation, distrust, and the long-term impact of political and biological crises.
The quarantined UK is both literal and symbolic—an island cut off not just by geography, but by trauma and consequence. The Rage Virus, once an abstract horror, now echoes real anxieties: how quickly fear spreads, how systems collapse, and how survival can erode empathy
But the film also offers hope, through connection, memory, and resilience. It urges us to ask what kind of future we want to rebuild, and whether we’ve learned anything from the devastations we’ve lived through.
The next instalment, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is due to be released in 2026 (at the time of publication with an indicative release date of January).
