28 Years Later

Evolving from the standard zombie fare, 28 Years Later brings added emotional heft to the atrophied genre.

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Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Podcast · Episode 994: 28 Years Later

In 2003 the presumed dead zombie genre was revived thanks to an unexpected source: director Danny Boyle. While Boyle had certainly delivered horrific imagery in his breakout film Trainspotting and small segments of a big-budget Hollywood adaptation The Beach, he had never directed a straight up horror film before. And in many ways, this was the shot in the arm that the zombie and horror movie genre needed thanks to its hand held camera aestetic, it's emphasis on humanity's inhumanity, and dedication to high-end production for a horror film with the empitied London streets being a notable visual standout that hit extremely hard in a post 9/11 world. Within two years the genre had exploded via a Dawn of the Dead remake from Zack Snyder (written by James Gunn), the horror comedy Shaun of the Dead that directly mocked the fast zombies of 28 Days Later, and the Resident Evil franchise went full zombie-fighting mode. By the start of the 2010s we had a 28 Days sequel, 28 Weeks Later and the launch of one of the most popular cable television shows of all time The Walking Dead.

So how do you bring the franchise back. By rocketing forward into the zombie future that maintains the naming structure, 28 Years Later.

The Setup

As the title indicates, the film takes place 28 years after the rage virus took over the British Isles on the isolated island of Lindisfarne, where a twelve year-old boy named Spike is about to make his first trip to the mainland. But when the simple in and out resource retrieval mission quickly goes off the rails, Spike begins to question the isolated life his community leads.

There's a lot about 28 Years Later that's going to piss people off. The ending that functions as a lead-in to a sequel a bunch of people may not be aware of, is certainly one of them (which I'll address in a spoiler section later on). There's a flurry of a references to British culture (both cultural figures and general British attitudes), a number of characters that don't behave as you'd expect based on the posters and previews, and a wild variety in visual styles being applied.

But the biggest one is going to be what this movie is versus what it isn't. Because this isn't a survival horror movie. This is a coming-of-age movie in the zombie apocalypse.

A Coming-of-Age Horror Movie

The take I alluded to in my plot summary is a perfect example. Every aspect of this is treated like a rite of passage including a send off for the young man and his father, praise from his peers and a party waiting for him at home once he's done. 

So we have a metaphorical journey into manhood as the boy enters the "real world" for the first time and sees the horrors he's been told about for years first hand and kills his first zombie. A literal hunting trip that ends up revealing the cracks in the facade Spike's father keeps putting up, including his toxic masculinity, his ego and his denial. Which means Spike is going to start questioning the view of the world he's been spoonfed and look to forge his own path.

That's the actual hook of this movie and I think it's really good one since it both forces the audience to see things with fresh eyes and encourages the audience to empathize with Spike's curiosity and to challenge the traditional British stiff upper lip in the face of adversity stuff. Like how the f*** do you keep calm and carry on when your mom is clearly unwell and all you dad wants to do is celebrate you as a legendary zombie killer?

So that's the first big reason folks may bounce off the movie. What's the second? Visual contrast.

A Blend of Visual Styles

Something that made the early 2000s zombie movies stand-out was their distinctive visual approaches. 28 Days Later has the visual look and feel of a decayed video which enhances its gritty look and vibe. This was achieved with very early digital filmmaking that felt more like a scripted form of found-footage than a big-budget studio production. And it certainly adds to the film's intensity, especially when paired with dim lighting, quick cuts, and our sprinting-style zombies.

28 Years Later doesn't have that same kind of visual consistency, but I liked it. Danny Boyle's approach this time around feels like it's meant to emphasize Spike's experience. So, as Spike is about to venture to the mainland for the first time, we get wide sweeping shots showing Spike and his father viewing the path that comes and goes with the tide with audio and visuals from WWII "keep calm and carry on" Britain intercut like a subconscious pull or drive that's guiding our father and son team.

The flashes of the old style come back as well, mostly during action beats involving the zombies including the hand held camera work and even some bullet-time slow downs for impact shots.

Admittedly part of the reason I liked this so much was because it stands out. It's different approach than most horror movies are using nowadays where they've got a clean visual palette determined from the jump and they stick with it. So confident visual flourishes meant to invoke specific feelings or highlight certain moments worked for me.

Is It As Good the First Movie?

I don't think 28 Years Later is as good or effective as 28 Days Later. Days is such a visceral punch of a film that's hard to recreate and is also as straightforward as the genre's ever been. There's also few images that are as evocative as Cillian Murphy roaming abandoned London streets and while Years has plenty of visual flair to spare, it lacks that kind of "stick in your mind" image.

So even though the ideas in Years are bigger than "humanity's capacity for good and evil in the midst of a crisis," it feels less likely to stick in the audience's head.

There's also the ending...which means 

*Giant Spoiler Alert*

28 Years Later ends on a cliffhanger for the next film in the franchise, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, with our young hero Spike deciding to go off on his own on the mainland. Very early into his venture he's pursued by multiple zombies and hits a rock-filled road block. It looks like this is the end for Spike. Until, that is, a man in a track suit, wavy white hair, and big gold chains and a crew that look exactly like him arrive and take out the zombies, seemingly relishing the violence. He introduces himself as Jimmy (which is the same we've seen etched into zombies and on walls in the vicinity throughout the movie).

Now an unexpected cliffhanger ending will piss off a lot of people, especially if you don't have the very British reference point for the character we meet at the end.

This gang, and even the name of our leader, are all evoking an infamous British celebrity named Jimmy Savile. For those unfamiliar, Savile was a beloved English personality who hosted two popular television shows and while he was alive, was known for his offbeat sense of humor, his go-to outfit (worn by the gang), and a number of runs he did for charity.

He is also one of the worst sex criminals in modern history. I'll spare you the details, but after his passing Savile was accused of sexual assault by hundreds of children throughout his entire career, with his celebrity, shows and charity work all operating both as a smokescreen and means of access. He was a monster. 

And considering the allegations came out in 2011 and the original film presumably takes place in 2002, this gang may not know that, but it is a very bad omen, maybe worse than you might've originally thought, that this gang dresses like him.

Conclusion

What I like so much about 28 Years Later is that it doesn't feel like a continuation of the same look, vibe or themes of the original film. The disaster has already happened. Life with the "infected" is a fact of life. So instead of being told how much life has changed, we see how life is both similar and different at the same time through the lens of this transformed world. And I'm very curious to see how the second film plays out...

The Verdict: An Evolution

Evolving from the standard zombie fare, 28 Years Later brings added emotional heft to the atrophied genre. 8/10