I don’t remember the last time a horror film started with the Teletubbies, but 28 Years Later wins the award for the most impactful use of the famous British kids’ TV show’s opening – as well as the most upsetting.
It should also win awards as one of the most triumphant ever revitalisations of a franchise that transcends the idea of mere genre.
28 Years Later is the most heart-wrenching, emotionally involving horror film I have ever watched, while also turning up the gore and terror to 11.
Plunging straight into a bloody and violent opening, it seems like this could be a nightmare to begin with – but it’s not. And this won’t be the last time you have that rather desperate wish while watching this movie.
Original 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland firmly take the reins once again for a follow-up to the film that cemented their careers in 2002.
Like the less well-received 28 Weeks Later in 2007, which Boyle and Garland only executive-produced, 28 Years Later is not a direct sequel.
It’s set in the same post-apocalyptic world where humans contaminated with the blood-born Rage Virus are instantly transformed into the zombie-like Infected.
With the British mainland now quarantined – and patrolled by boats – survivors have been left to fend for themselves in the intervening years, including a small island community that has protected itself thanks to its connecting causeway, only traversable at low tide.
Here, 12-year-old Spike (brilliant newcomer Alfie Williams) is taken on his first hunting mission to the mainland by his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who is determined to toughen his son in the face of danger and death.
We discover how the Infected have evolved too, from the blubbery, bald strain who creepily crawl along the ground, slurping up worms, to the advent of Alphas, who are bigger, stronger and meaner.
They have the intelligence to hunt more stealthily – and also the truly hideous habit of ‘despining’ their victims.
Everything about 28 Years Later is more extreme than its predecessors, but particularly when it comes to its gruesomeness and scariness, from each death being a blood-spattered snapshot at the moment of the kill, to the horrors of a carved-up victim hung by his ankles and choking on the bag slowly gathering his blood that’s tied over his head. I hope you’re not squeamish.
The tension is also exquisite, with a pursuit scene that manages to be both heart-pounding and beautiful thanks to Young Fathers’ haunting soundtrack combining with stunning shots of the starry night sky, pinpoints of light and water spray, creating an almost psychedelic experience. It’s truly incredible what Boyle has managed to capture on the screen with returning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, especially when the film was largely shot on iPhones.
Spike’s vulnerable mother Isla (Jodie Comer) then sparks the determination in him to embark on a quest with her for a cure to her undiagnosed illness, putting them on the path to meet fellow survivor Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who is on his own memento mori mission.
An oddball but compassionate figure, the character of Kelson helps emphasise the close connection to death necessary in this world. The perspectives crystalised in such an extreme post-apocalyptic scenario are deftly intertwined, which also then cracks the audience open for the emotional damage yet to come.
28 Years Later is a brutally moving film, and the first horror movie to make me cry.
It’s also a phenomenal piece of cinema, and just when you think it’s all over, the ending introduces a very uncomfortable reference for British audiences in Jack O’Connell’s late-arriving character.
He tells Spike, ‘let’s be friends’, and you’ll immediately be worried, but it tees up fans perfectly for what fresh horrors await in January’s sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
28 Years Later is out in UK cinemas on Thursday, June 19.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
