28 YEARS LATER
(director: Danny Boyle; screenwriter: Alex Garland; cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle; editor: Jon Harris; music: Young Fathers; cast: Aaron-Taylor Johnson (Jamie), Alfie Williams (Spike), Ralph Fiennes (Dr. Ian Kelson), Jodie Comer (Isla), Jack O’Connell (Sir Jimmy Crystal), Christopher Fujford (Sam, Isla’s father); Runtime: 115; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Peter Rice, Bernard Bellew, Danny Boyle, Paul Gardner, Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald; Columbia Pictures; 2025-UK/USA)
“Visually stylish.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Brit filmmaker Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”/”Trainspotting”) helms a visually stylish and bizarre remake of the 2002 zombie apocalypse movie and the second sequel to 28 Weeks Later (2007 ), the weakest film in the franchise. This one is astonishing at times but misses the mark when it shoots for an emotionally impactful movie.
The screenwriter is Alex Garland.
A group of uninfected humans have found refuge on Holy Island for the last 28 years, which is located in the northern part of the UK. It remains isolated because it has only one causeway to the infected mainland. The uninfected survivors have created a new community, where they grow their own food and for their safety hunt down any invading zombies on the causeway with bows and arrows. They have lived here ever since a Rage Virus 28 years ago escaped an experimental laboratory and caused this zombie situation.
The 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) lives with his rugged dad Jamie (Aaron-Taylor Johnson), his ailing bedridden mom Isla (Jodie Comer), and her father (Christopher Fujford) on the island. When there are rumors of a doctor living on the mainland who can cure all infections, Spike wants to track down this Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and takes his dad and mom with him to London so she can be cured.
On the mainland there are a number of action sequences that keep things hopping.
REVIEWED ON 6/24/2025 GRADE: B
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