Many would assume that the rise in popularity of zombies in pop culture would be due to The Walking Dead TV show, and, to a lesser extent, the comics. And while it is true that it launched the genre into the stratosphere, this is actually incorrect. Even the Zack Snyder remake of Dawn of the Dead with its fast zombies wasn’t the one that started the craze over again, as that honor belongs to the 2002 film 28 Days Later (and yes, I know they’re not actually zombies). Not only did this unleash a new kind of malignant creature upon society, but it continued the time-honored tradition of horror teaching us about the world around us and the inherent dangers in how we perceive ourselves, especially with the theme of “us versus them.” With 28 Years Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have reunited to give us not so much a horror movie as another parable about ourselves which is stunning in its execution.
28 years since the release of the Rage virus, survivors are doing their best to eke out an existence in the barren wastelands. 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) is ready to leave home with his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in a rite-of-passage to hunt and kill his first infected. They return triumphant, but Spike begins to become suspicious of Jamie after learning that there is a doctor on the mainland who could help diagnose and cure his ailing mother Isla (Jodie Comer). Defying the law, Spike and his mother break out to find this doctor on a quest that neither of them is likely to survive.
To anyone new to these series of films, it might be surprising to learn just how little the infected play an actual role in it. Sure, they show up often enough to give us some great action scenes, but they are not the driving force. Their threat is ever-present, but they are used sparingly to much greater effect. This story falls squarely on the shoulders of young Spike (and, to a lesser extent, Jamie and Isla) as its main thrust is probably one of the most harrowing coming-of-age tales in recent memory. Not only does he learn betrayal but must also take on a parental role for his mother which is nothing a young child should ever have to face. Throw in the fact that the specter of death looms ever overhead, and they find themselves falling down a desolate rabbit hole that not even Alice would dare face.
It cannot be understated just how amazing of a performance Alfie Williams gives especially considering that child actors can be the lynchpin to a film’s success or failure. Considering he is on screen nearly 100% of the time, if he was not believable, everything would have fallen apart. Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives his all, and Jodie Comer deserves to start showing up in more projects, but this kid puts them all to shame. Only when Ray Fiennes shows up towards the end do we have a peer who can match his talent. It seems strange to say that a teenager has leading man energy, but this is completely his film, and he owns every second of it.
On a technical aspect, the decision to primarily shoot this with a simple iPhone 15 Max gives it a much grittier feeling than a standard camera would have. That and the use of drones to get the high shots as they traverse through the jungle pair to almost make this feel like a modern, and more malicious, Grimm’s Fairy Tale with a trail of blood leading home instead of breadcrumbs. It’s breathtaking not only in scope but also the intimacy it provides.
The only drawback is a story beat in the last few minutes that is confusing. This is the first in an intended trilogy, and with the second shot simultaneously and already set to be released in a few months, I’m hopeful (and trustful) that it will all make sense. Still, you’re going to walk out scratching your head.
As a longtime fan of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, I was excited to see what they could pull off, and they more than met my expectations. Almost everything works so well, that it proves they are not only the best at telling these kinds of stories, but they continue to evolve and improve this type of storytelling in monumental ways. Throw in one of the best performances you are going to find this year along with a depth of filmmaking that is rarely seen, and you have what is almost a masterpiece. If they can continue this trend with the second (and hopefully) third parts, you’re going to have something we will talk about for years to come.