Three decades after 28 Days Later transformed the zombie genre and became a cultural touchstone of early 2000s British cinema, Danny Boyle returns to the infected world he helped create. Set in a Britain that has quarantined itself from the rest of the world, 28 Years Later follows Isla (Jodie Comer), a nurse living in a survivor settlement, whose son's dangerous curiosity sets in motion a journey into the infected zones that will upend everything she thought she knew about the outbreak and its origins. The island is now a strange, enclosed ecosystem of communities built alongside — and in constant danger from — the rage-infected who still roam the countryside.
Boyle shoots the film in a raw, immediate style that recalls the original's documentary aesthetic while pushing further into painterly expressionism in its more hallucinatory sequences. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a charismatic outsider whose motives remain opaque throughout, and Ralph Fiennes appears in a mesmerizing supporting role as a reclusive doctor who has spent decades studying the infected — and who may know far more than he's willing to share. The film expands the mythology of the franchise in meaningful ways without letting backstory overwhelm the moment-to-moment dread.
28 Years Later is the first of a planned trilogy — a confident, terrifying return to form that works equally well as a standalone thriller and as a setup for what's to come. Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland have constructed a film that earns its place beside the classics of the genre, delivering genuine horror while engaging seriously with questions of isolation, community, and what it means to survive in a world permanently altered by catastrophe. A Sony Pictures release.
Got a "Not available in your region" message?
No worries. Get a true residential US IP address and watch any title even if you are not in the USA!
Anna Miko enjoys writing more than reading books. But most of all she likes to write movie and series reviews. Being fond of classic cinema, she nevertheless is the author of many research works on contemporary visual arts. She also writes short essays on new movies and series helping others to navigate the world of modern cinema.
Every service carrying this title blocks connections from outside the US. A residential US IP address changes what they see.
Get a US IP address — 3-day free trialHow this works →
