28 Years later Review
- Anthony De Rouen
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Published 6/20/2025
Rating : 9/10 Highly Recommend
I loved 28 Days Later. It was a rush of a zombie film. The way they sprinted after Cillian Murphy and jumped through windows sent chills down my spine. The song In the House - In a Heartbeat by John Murphy was an instant classic. I can't imagine a song fitting the climax of a film any better than it did. With Danny Boyle's direction and Anthony Dod Mantle's camerawork this was a tense, gritty almost believable genre film.
28 Weeks Later was a complete dud. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo failed on so many levels. I was happy to see the franchise die because in truth it had nowhere to go. The virus reached continental Europe, yippee? While announced in 2007 a 3rd film wouldn't see the light of day until today. Was the wait worth it? In short, yes. I haven't read into Danny Boyle's reaction to 20 Weeks Later but the retcon was swift and clean.
"Twenty-eight years after the second outbreak, the Rage virus has been eradicated in continental Europe, while Great Britain remains under indefinite quarantine."
In the real world this obviously wouldn't fly. But this isn't the real world, is it? No, this is Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's world, and we're just helpless peasants foraging for food.
Speaking about this film in any context will almost certainly give away surprises. I will say this: if you were a fan of Danny Boyle's shooting and lighting style this is more of the same good stuff. There are crazy close-up's, sharp angles and wild inserts to keep you off kilter. The duo behind 28 Days Later haven't lost their touch. I enjoyed the gritty, raw action scenes, the crystalline, overhead panoramas and the still intimate close-ups with family.
To touch on the actors a bit: Ralph Fiennes turns in one of his better performances in recent memory. An Academy Award winner actor in his own right, Ralph Fiennes seems to do better with stronger direction, as if there is another gear to his effort under the right circumstances. This is moreso true of Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I loathed Aaron's work in Godzilla and Kraven. Terrible effort, deadpan delivery and zero emotional range. The same stoic face in every scene. An actor you could say gets parts based on his looks, and agent. Naturally, when I heard Aaron Taylor-Johnson was attached to 28 Years Later, the question became why? Danny Boyle saw something we didn't, and pulled it out of him. The true mark of a quality director.
Oh, and that zombie with the wide eyes and wider ears you see in the trailer? Yep, that's him. Tough way to go.
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