I distinctly remember the moment I started hating scary films.
My friend’s mum had snuck me and her daughter – two only-just-13-year-olds – into a screening of 15-rated Hot Fuzz.
I know now that this Simon Pegg cult classic is considered a comedy but for teenage me, it was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen. Beheadings, impalings, and charred bodies – it was far too much.
So when 28 Weeks Later came out that same year, and friends suggested watching the original in preparation, I squirmed.
I actually believe I sat on my pal’s sofa with eyes closed, periodically walking in and out the room (which has resulted in a very patchy recollection of the plot).
Anyway, all that’s to say that I haven’t strayed far from the rom-com/action/comedy genre since.
Until this week – when I scored an invite to the premiere of 28 Years Later. Not one to turn down a freebie, and with my 31-year-old big girl pants firmly on, I decided to give it a watch.
Warning: This article contains spoilers.
And I have to say, even as someone who despises jumpscares, it’s definitely worth seeing.
I do have a slight disclaimer in that I did demand Metro’s senior film reporter Tori Brazier – who had seen the film the day before – warn me about the scariest moments. I was met with instructions like ‘when you see the deer skull, close your eyes’, and ‘turn away when they enter the train carriage’.
For those who have spent a life trying to stay blissfully unaware of the plot of the zombie trilogy, it’s this: 28 years before the most recent installment, animal rights activists release chimpanzee lab subjects who essentially spread a rage-inducing virus across the UK creating ‘the infected’ (aka zombies).
These running, blood-vomiting, shrieking monsters (who are largely naked by 28 Years Later) terrorise the UK to the point that the nation is placed in global quarantine, with human survivors left to defend themselves while life goes on in the rest of the world.
In a little community, on a small island off the mainland, separated by one road through the water, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), his mum Isla (Jodie Comer) and his dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), have found safety.
The film sees Spike and both of his parents make trips to the mainland; in his dad’s case, it’s so Spike can make his first kill; in his mum’s, Spike’s looking to find the mysterious Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) who lives on the mainland and who Spike believes can cure Isla of her unknown illness.
And of course, there’s the infected to navigate around – especially the new alphas (aka super zombies) providing ample opportunity for blood, gore and scares.
There’s the opening five minutes, where we wait with bated breath to see if a roomful of terrified children survive the infected descending. Well, you can guess how that goes.
And there’s the scene where we see an alpha rip a man’s head from his neck, withdrawing his spine like a bone from a tender beef rib, and using it to batter another man.
But you know what, despite Tori’s warnings, I only closed my eyes once (I did, however, jump out of my skin twice).
Because, in that moment, I really felt like I would be missing out if I decided to watch the insides of my eyelids instead.
The acting in this film is phenomenal. Right before it screened, Danny Boyle talked about the ‘Harry Potter effect’ and how there are an incredible amount of talented young wannabe-actors out there.
We saw it with Owen Cooper in Adolescence, and we see it again with Alfie Williams who does a stand-out job, considering it is his character that leads the entire plot of the film.
We feel his terror, fear for his safety from the offset, feel the immense pressure that’s on him, see his youthful innocence when he notices his dad is exaggerating their successes, and treasure the moments he has with his mum, pulling silly faces in a crumbling cathedral.
The main cast may be small but they are mighty. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes don’t have a huge amount of screen time each but when they do appear, they draw you in with their quirks, flaws and humanness (which is kind of the whole point of the film, I know).
Yes, I might have found the straddling of the slapstick comedy vs the heart-wrenching vs the horror jarring at times, but I’m well-assured that that is the beauty of Danny Boyle, and in honesty the film would be a lot weaker if even one of these aspects were missing.
As part of her warning, Tori mentioned that there was one scary scene I must keep my eyes open for, and I’m glad I listened.
Thinking they’ve escaped an alpha after a night of near-death experiences, Jamie and Spike walk back across the causeway, the stress falling away as they joke around.
The peace doesn’t last and we see an immense chase scene, with the camera panning in and out to show the splash of the father and son’s strides being closely followed by that of their pursuer, all under an inky blue sky peppered with stars and northern lights.
It’s utterly gorgeous while also bringing you out in a cold sweat. I’d have been a fool to look away.
And so I’m glad I faced my fears and gave into the horror genre. I would hardly say I’m a convert (I’ll still be comfort-watching Miss Congeniality for the rest of my days), but maybe I’ll go back and give 28 Days and 28 Weeks later a go.
Maybe I’ll even like them. Maybe I’ll finally be able to face Hot Fuzz.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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