28 Years Later, 2025 - ★★★★
Friday, June 20, 2025
28 Years Later is part of the 28 Days Later series. This time, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland came back to work on this movie.
If you’re looking for a full-on zombie movie, this might disappoint you, as it leans more toward a post-apocalyptic world after civilization falls and how people live in this new normal with a quarantined life while the rest of the world still carries on.
This movie has fewer jump scares and action, and more blood and gore, but it focuses even more on a slow buildup and creating a frightening, intense atmosphere.
I think it’s safe to say that this movie is the opposite of 28 Weeks Later, the second film of this franchise.
It creates intense horror, emotional depth, and outstanding visuals. It’s more than just the brutal violence of life battling with zombies; it includes contemplative moments about life and death and how people adapt to this kind of lifestyle.
I enjoyed seeing how the old and new generations communicate with each other and try to fill gaps between lost history and cultures. It’s not only about individual or species survival but also the survival of cultures and society as a whole.
Story-wise, I still prefer the original movie, 28 Days Later. However, 28 Years Later excels far more in everything else.
I was genuinely impressed by the cast's powerful and authentic performances, which made the story deeply gripping and emotionally moving. The film thoughtfully explores the complex relationships between characters.
What truly sets it apart, though, is the exceptional technical craftsmanship; innovative filmmaking and bold artistic choices that break from the usual standards.
The visuals in this movie are truly captivating, matched by an equally impressive sound design that I believe deserves award recognition. Rather than mimicking real life in a straightforward manner, both visuals and audio are crafted with artistic choices that evoke strong emotions, with innovative, gripping, and deeply immersive atmosphere throughout the film, and it succeeds brilliantly. This approach closely aligns with the style seen in Alex Garland's Civil War movie.
From a technical perspective—covering all the below-the-line categories—this movie is remarkable.
However, the story itself could have been tightened. Given the filmmakers' intention to expand this universe, the pacing and narrative choices might make sense, but at times it felt slightly dragged and unfocused.
Overall, I genuinely like this movie, but the final last couple of minutes felt out of place and disrupted the tone that had been carefully built up. The drastic tonal shift almost made me forget the impact of the rest of the film, and I needed to gather my thoughts again after leaving the theater.
If this had been a standalone film, I would have been frustrated and disappointed by such a cheap ending. However, since it's clearly setting up a trilogy with a sequel already in progress, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Overall, it's a strong film, and if you're a fan of 28 Days Later, I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch.