Director Danny Boyle’s 2002 film, 28 Days Later, stamped the horror genre with a groundbreaking remake of the zombie genre into one with fast-running, rage-infected victims. The film series picked up in 28 Years Later, a follow-up that continued the film decades after the outbreak began.
Helmed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo from a script by Kevin and Ryan Keldysh, the film dropped the audiences deep into post-apocalyptic Britain-the world remade once the rage virus had taken over-and onto an island where perhaps several cut-off survivors had managed to evade the infection. Years passed, and their cloistered sanctuary was seriously threatened when one of theirs set foot onto the mainland.
What he found was a world much scarier than any of them could have perceived. The virus had begun to mutate, affecting not just the infected but also the survivors themselves. The movie delves into the psychological and physical impacts that the virus has in the long run and further investigates how fragile human society can get in the face of something so unimaginably horrific.
28 Years Later wasn’t just a horror movie it was thought-provoking, regarding the collapse of society, the nature of fear, and the indomitable human spirit. It brought discussions of long-term pandemic effects, community, and what sacrifices we make to stay alive.
