With 28 Years Later, director Danny Boyle returns to the zombie saga that he began with 28 Days Later. The direct sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. At the end of 28 Weeks Later, the zombies were busting out of England and sprawling onto the European continent. But in 28 Years Later, the “zombies” (who are still-living humans infected with a rage virus) have been pushed back into England, and the entire British Isles has now become something like New York City in John Carpenter’s Escape From New York: a vast wasteland that has been placed under quarantine by the outside world.
But the British Isles are not all gloom and doom. A small village of non-infected humans are thriving on an island off the Scottish coast. Despite being shunned by the rest of the world, these hardy people have formed their own way of life and customs. They’re protected by a natural causeway that connects their island to the mainland--a causeway that sinks below the waves at every high tide. Alfie Williams stars as Spike, a twelve year old boy who’s decided to become a hunter for his village. And so he goes on his very first hunt on the mainland with his father, Jamie (the always sturdy Aaron Taylor Johnson).
28 years into this zombie apocalypse sees the zombies looking more like cavemen, with wild, untamed nature having taken over the abandoned towns and villages around them. The gore effects are so good that they’re actually too good in some scenes, with no graphic detail left unseen. Alfie Williams is very good as Spike, a boy calmly trying to find his way in what most of us would consider a very crazy situation. He has a strong moral compass for someone so young, which serves him well, and immediately puts the viewer on his side.
Jodie Comer is also superb as Spike’s mother, Isla, who’s gravely ill, but is forced to suffer with her unknown affliction because their village has no doctor. And Ralph Fiennes is great as the mysterious Doctor Ian Kelson, who’s probably the most fascinating character here, with his slow and steady one-man purge of the infected--as well as dealing with their remains--which he treats almost like it’s a sacred ritual (and that may well be).
28 Years Later is very well done, having been ably directed once more by Danny Boyle, with a solid script by Alex Garland (Civil War), who also wrote the first film. This jump ahead from a zombie apocalypse is fascinating to see, because it very effectively extrapolates how humans and their society would evolve from such a crisis years later. The only problem I had with 28 Years Later is that it’s the first half of a two part story. Its sequel, The Bone Temple, was shot back to back with it and will be released in January, 2026. While the first movie still resolves some of its plot points at the end, it still ends on a cliffhanger. So you may want to wait until both films are available to you to see the whole captivating story. --SF
Comments
Post a Comment